


Escape the Day

by SkyIshtar



Series: Broken Dreams [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-04-10 07:18:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 31,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4382426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyIshtar/pseuds/SkyIshtar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three years ago Skye and Ward ran in hopes of finding a life together, leaving the team in pieces but circumstances are forcing a broken team back together and a family to ask for the help of some old friends.<br/>SEQUEL TO BROKEN DREAMS AND SILENT SCREAMS.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> This is my sequel to my previous story ‘BROKEN DREAMS AND SILENT SCREAMS’, it helps if you have read it before you start reading this story.  
> Once again the title comes from the song ‘BONES’ by MS MR, I don’t know why it just does.  
> As always I do not own Agents of SHIELD

It had been three years since Skye had last seen most of those she had once called family, three years since she had let them believe that she had died in an explosion. Those three years had been a struggle for Skye but at least she wasn’t alone, at least she had Grant Ward.

Every night Skye had nightmares and every night Skye woke screaming. The nightmares had been the same for over two years, she would dream that the bleeding man came for her, came for her son. However seven months ago the nightmares had changed, now the dreams not only included the loss of Andrew but the loss the loss of her unborn child too. Every night when Skye woke screaming Ward was there to calm her, to remind her that she was safe. He would just hold Skye and let her take her fears out on him, be it crying into his shoulder or screaming in anger. Ward was always there. The former specialist always listened and he never judged her.

They hadn’t exactly been trying to have another baby but despite the nightmares Skye had rarely been happier than the day she had told her husband that she was pregnant again. Both Skye and Ward had had their concerns about adding another child into their already dangerous lives but both had agreed that they wouldn’t change anything for the world.

Shortly after faking her death one of the first lesson’s Skye had learned about being on the run was that you didn’t actually run, constant movement was one of the ways people got caught. So after leaving their old lives far behind Skye and Ward had found a place that they had hoped to settle down. That had been two and half year ago.

The small family had chosen an almost self-sufficient farm in the middle of nowhere, far away from any major cities in which either of them could be recognized. There was a local town, it wasn’t much but it provided them with the food they couldn’t grow themselves and work when they needed it.

It was during one of those times that they needed the work that all hell broke loose. They hadn’t crossed paths with anyone dangerous since Andy was born so although he wasn’t completely comfortable with it Ward did leave his wife and son alone on the farm from time to time. Despite having almost three years of freedom Skye’s level of trust in the outside world was almost zero. Not a single person in the local town knew that Skye and Ward had a child let alone that they were expecting another. The hacker had gone to great length to hid her pregnancy from the outside would, only going to the doctor, one almost five hours away, because Ward wanted to make sure everything was okay. Even when it was just her and Andy alone on the farm Skye hid her pregnancy, just in case.

It was just after midday when Andy dragged Skye outside, she had no idea where the three year old managed to get so much energy from. Andy looked like a miniature version of his father but was exactly like Skye in temperament, he was curious and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Skye enjoyed her alone time with Andy, the times Ward took construction work in the town, it made the hacker almost feel normal, that there wasn’t entire worlds that sought out her and her children.

It was Andy that first seemed to sense something was wrong, Skye remembered that even in the womb her son had known that something was wrong, that the Asgardians had come for them. Even though he was only three Andy knew to trust his instincts, that if he felt like something was wrong there was probably something very wrong.

Skye had been sitting on the front porch watching her son play when she saw the three year old freeze in his tracks and then sprint back to the house. She was standing by the time Andy reached her and wrapped himself around her leg. Skye had never seen her son so scared. The baby kicked her hard in the kidney, just as Andy had done when the Asgardians had arrived, it was then that the hacker knew something was seriously wrong.

A sense of dread crept over Skye as she pulled her son into the house and bolted the door behind her, she wasn’t sure if it was her fear that was feeding Andy’s or if it was Andy’s that was feeding hers, either way both mother and son knew something bad was coming and terrified of what it could be.

Carefully squatting down to her son’s level Skye gripped Andy’s shoulders, to make sure his attention was solely on her, “Andy, I need you to be brave. Can you do that for me?” The little boy nodded and Skye smiled, “Good boy. Now do you remember what we talked about? I need you to go and hid under your bed and don’t come out unless daddy or I say it’s safe, okay?”

“Okay,” Andy said weakly, his fear evident in his voice.

“Go,” Skye ordered. Andy ran, how to hide was one of the first lessons drilled into him by both Skye and Ward and it was one of the few things Andy didn’t argue about. Skye felt another kick to the kidney a she stood back up and ran a hand across her stomach, “I’m sorry that I can’t hide you but I promise I’ll do my best to protect you.” There was another kick and Skye wondered if it was the baby’s way of reassuring her, that everything would be okay.

Now that she knew Andy was safe Skye went over the plan in her head, her and Ward had come up with several when they had decided to make a home here. Unfortunately most of them involved Ward actually being there to help and actually knowing who or what was coming after them. Luckily the start of the plan was always the same, if you can’t run make sure that they can’t get in. Skye had already bolted the front door so she hurried to make sure the back door was locked before securing the windows. Andy crept out from under his bed as Skye checked the windows in hi small room but scurried back under his bed with one look from his mother.

Hurrying to her own room Skye pulled one of the emergency phones out of the draw and dialled the only number she had ever needed over the past three years, Ward’s.

Ward picked up within two rings, “What happened?” There was no pleasantries, Ward would have known that if Skye was calling something was wrong and that she was desperate, phones could be traced after all.

“Something’s going on,” Skye replied, “I’m not sure what, just get back here. Now.”

“I’m leaving now,” Ward assured, “I’ll be back soon.”

“Hurry,” Was all Skye said in reply before hanging up the phone. She wondered if Ward could hear the fear in her voice.

The next step in the plan was always the weapons, the type of weapon always changed depending on the threat but they were always needed. Ward had stockpiled all manner of weapons years ago and hid them all over the house, out of the reach of Andy. Unfortunately with her advancing pregnancy meant most of them were out of Skye’s reach as well. In fact the only ones Skye had any hope of getting her hands on were the weapons stored in the living room. It was one of the smaller stores but Skye hoped it would be enough to hold back whatever was coming. However when she entered the living room Skye knew it wouldn’t be enough, even if she did manage to get to them in time, if she managed to get past the man currently occupying the lounge.

The man smiled a bloody smile when Skye walked into the room, “You look so much like your mother.”

Skye froze as she looked the man over, “You’re not welcome here.”

Sir’s smile grew, blood staining his teeth, “So you know who I am?”

“I do,” Skye replied, she picked up a hand towel from the kitchen bench and threw it at her father, “And you’re getting blood on my couch.”

Sir raised an eyebrow but took the towel anyway and wiped away at least some of the blood that had dripped onto the couch from his many cuts, “You’re not surprised to see me?”

“I’m just surprised it took you three years to track me down,” Skye replied. Keeping an eye on Sir Skye made her way across the kitchen, making sure her father didn’t see her Skye pulled a knife out of its block and gripped it in her hand, “What took you so long?”

Sir stood up, dripping blood on Skye’s clean floor, “To be honest I believed you dead.”

“That was the point,” Skye snapped, gripping the knife so tight her knuckles turned white, “I don’t want you in my life.”

Sir took a step forward, Skye instinctively took a step back, and Sir actually paused at that, “There is so much I could teach you, my daughter, about your heritage and your gifts.” Sir took another step forward, “I could teach you so much, you and the child that hides under his bed.”

Skye froze and Sir laughed, “What? You think I didn’t know. I must admit I am impressed that you managed to hide yourselves for so long. I was surprised when I came in search of the one named Ward, the one I thought responsible for your death and instead I find you with a child, alive and well.”

Skye took a step forward, her fear suddenly gone, “You stay the hell away from my son.” She slammed the knife on the bench so hard it stuck into the wood, “You so much as look at him again and I will skin you alive.”

Sir grinned, “Looks like there is more of me in you than you’re willing to admit.”

“I am nothing like you,” Skye hissed. “If I wanted to talk to my son I would go talk to him not send people to hunt him down. I would not send entire worlds after him. In fact if I knew talking to him would draw those worlds to him I would stay the hell away from him,” Skye yelled the last words, the anger at having spent the last three years of her life in hiding seeping into her voice. Suddenly Skye felt the baby kick again, she flinched and took a step back from Sir, the baby didn’t seem to like being anywhere near its grandfather.

Sir saw the flinch and saw his daughter’s hand move instinctively towards her stomach but dropped it when she saw him looking but it was too late Sir had already figured out what the girl was hiding from. He smiled, “The child you carry doesn’t like me.”

“Neither do I,” Skye snapped, “I don’t know how many ways I can say this to you, get lost.”

Sir moved so fast that Skye barely saw him let alone had time to stop him, grabbing her by the wrist Sir pinned the hacker’s hand to the bench and in a single movement pulled the knife out of the bench and drove it through his daughter’s palm.

Skye screamed, dropping to her knees as pain shot up her arm. Sir pulled the knife out and Skye pulled the bloody hand to her chest.

Sir squatted down to his daughter’s level, still holding the bloody knife in his hand, “You should respect your elders, girl. Next time it might not be your hand.”

Skye looked up at her father, tears in her eyes as she clutched her bloody hand to her chest, “You’re a monster.”

Sir smiled and traced a bloody finger down Skye’s cheek, “So are you.” Then traced the finger all the way down to Skye’s stomach, “And your children.”

Skye spat on him.

Sir just laughed, “There’s fire in you. I can use that.”

Skye went to slap him with her bloody hand but Sir managed to grab it before she made contact. The hacker tried to pull her hand away when Sir lifted the knife again, only this time he didn’t bring it down on Skye’s hand but on his own, slicing himself across the palm. He then grabbed Skye’s own bloody hand and placed it over the cut on his own hand. It stung like hell and Skye pulled her hand away as soon as Sir let go. She went to clutch it to her chest again but Skye suddenly realized it didn’t hurt anymore and the blood was no longer flowing from the cut. Inspecting the hand Skye realized there wasn’t even a cut anymore.

Skye took a step back, afraid Sir would strike her again and afraid that the next time he would go for her unborn child instead of her. She remembered Ward lying unconscious in her bedroom, about what he said when he woke up. Skye also remembered what Sif had said about her the night the Asgardian had followed her through the rain. Her blood was special, her blood could heal and apparently so could her father’s.

Looking up at her father Skye glared, “Where were you when I got shot?”

Sir ignored the question, instead pulling Skye to her feet by the arm, “Get the boy.” He snapped, pulling Skye towards the bedrooms, “We’re leaving.”

Skye tried to pull away, “What the hell makes you think I’ll go anywhere with you?”

“You’re my daughter,” Sir snapped, “You’ll do as you’re…”

The gunshot echoed throughout the house and Sir dropped to his knees, blue veins spreading out across his face as the ICER’s drugs took effect.

The shot had come through one of the windows and despite her shock Skye managed to make it to the door and let the shooter inside.

Ward wrapped his arms around Skye the second he was in the house, he pulled back checking Skye over, “Are you okay?”

Skye nodded, panic still evident on her face, “I think so.”

“Get Andy,” Ward replied. “I’ll take care of him,” Nodding to the unconscious Sir.

Skye looked at the unconscious man, “Are you going to kill him?”

“Do you want me to?” Ward asked, Skye wasn’t entirely sure if he was serious or not.

Skye shook her head, “Not today.” She then looked back at her husband, “Where are you going to stash him?”

“The Keller’s are out of town,” Ward replied after seemingly thinking it over for a couple of seconds, “They’ve got a cellar. If I tie him up down there that should give us enough time to make a run for it.”

“Okay,” Skye agreed quietly.

Ward took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Skye, planting a kiss in her hair, “You’re okay.” He assured her, “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”

Skye pulled back and smiled weakly up at Ward, wiping the last of her tears away, “When do we leave?”

“As soon as we’re ready,” Ward replied, “Just check on Andy and I’ll take care of him.” He reminded Skye of the unconscious man on their living room floor.

Skye just nodded before leaving Ward to deal with the body. Hurrying into her son’s room Skye called the little boy’s name, the three year old wrapped himself around his mother’s legs in an instant. Skye dropped to her knees and pulled Andy into her arms, never wanting to let him go.

Skye was thankful to whatever god that was listening that her nightmares hadn’t come true, at least not today.


	2. Home

The kitchen was now clean, scrubbed completely of prints, there was no point running if they left traces of themselves behind. Although Skye had known that the day would come when they would have to leave, she couldn’t help but be sad. The hacker had spent almost three years in this house, making it her own. It was the longest Skye had ever stayed in one place. It was the only house Andy had ever known. As far as Skye was concerned this small house, where she and Grant had raised one child and conceived another, was home.

Standing alone in the kitchen Skye recalled some of the happy memories she had of this house. This was where Andy had taken his first steps and spoken his first words. This house was where Skye had told Ward she was pregnant, where she’d asked him to marry him and where he’d said yes.

Skye smiled as she recalled the conversation that had occurred in the kitchen, only a few days after deciding to try and make a home here. It hadn’t exactly been a romantic proposal and Skye was pretty sure it was Ward that was meant to ask her but she had known that with all his issues he would never be confident enough in himself to ask her, so she’d ask him. Skye remembered the look on Ward’s face when she’d asked, standing there and laying out all the logical reasons they should get married. Skye remembered the smile that had spread across her own face when Grant Ward had agreed to be her husband. And Skye certainly remembered the night that had followed, thankful it had been just after Andy began to sleep through the night, they hadn’t exactly made it to the bedroom that night to celebrate their engagement.

Standing in the kitchen Skye also remembered some the fights her and Ward had had in this house over the past couple of years. Some of them minor disagreements, resulting in a couple of harsh and a sarcastic comment or two. Others had been full on wars, usually ending with Skye smashing a plate or glass against the wall or Ward slamming a door and spending an hour or two at the punching bag. Despite all the anger the couple never once hit each other, although Skye knew it was a fear that Ward lived with every time they had a fight, that he wouldn’t be able to control his anger, that he could hurt her or hurt Andrew. His greatest fear was becoming like his father, like his brother, like Garrett. Ward had promised Skye, late one night when he thought the hacker asleep, that he would kill himself if he ever thought he would go that far, that he even thought about laying his hands on his family.

Skye knew that Ward still dealt with his demons on a daily basis, a lifetime of abuse didn’t just disappear in a couple of day, even in a couple of year. Skye remembered some of the breakdowns her husband had in this house. The nights that Skye wasn’t the only one who woke screaming from nightmares. The nights he would tell her everything he had done and the look in Ward’s eyes was what terrified Skye the most, he expected her to run, to take Andy and flee from the monster he’d become but she never had and she never would.

Skye felt arms wrap around her but she didn’t flinch, she knew this touch, this embrace and after everything that had happened she craved it. As long as she was in Ward’s embrace Skye was safe and she felt like nothing could touch her. Ward’s hands slipped down to cover the bump Skye had hidden beneath layers of clothing. Skye lent back in his embrace and let him kiss her hair, letting her know that everything would be okay.

Ward sighed, “We need to get going.” He pressed another kiss against his wife’s head, “Are you going to be okay?”

Skye knew what he was really asking, “We’re fine, Grant.” She assured him, she held up her hand, only a faint scar crossed her palm, “See, not a scratch, well not a big one. I think he was just trying to make a point and more than anything I think he was trying to show me what he was capable of.”

“I know full well what he’s capable of,” Ward replied, remembering his own encounter with Skye’s father. He turned Skye around so that the hacker was facing him, he placed a hand on Skye’s cheek, “Now are you sure you’re okay?”

Skye smiled, “I’m fine, Grant. Andy’s fine, the baby’s fine. We’re all fine.” She gripped Ward’ shirt and pulled him down into a kiss, it assured both of them that they were okay.

Ward was the one to pull back, “We really need to get going.”

Skye nodded, slowly stepping out of Ward’s embrace, “I’ll get Andy. You start the car.”

“Okay,” Ward replied softly, giving Skye a quick kiss on the cheek before heading outside.

Skye took one more look around the kitchen before heading to her son’s room. Andy was sitting on his own small bed but just jumped off when Skye walk in. The look in his eyes as he looked up at his mother almost broke Skye. He was so innocent and he didn’t deserve this life.

The three year old frowned up at his mother, “Do we have to?”

Skye sighed, “Yes, honey. We’re not safe here anymore.”

Andy looked annoyed, so much like Skye herself, but he didn’t argue again.

Skye smiled at her son, trying to reassure him, “Are you ready” The little boy just nodded, “Okay. Go find daddy, I’ll be there in a minute.”

Andy grabbed his own small bag and ran out of the room and then out of the house, leaving Skye alone in the house, alone in her own home.

* * *

The sun was just starting to set when Ward pulled the car out of the farm the family had once called home. Skye was surprised that Ward hadn’t thrown a match on the place, it would have been the best way to leave no trace behind. However deep down Skye knew the truth, that this house had been the only home Ward had ever known too and he couldn’t bring himself to burn it to the ground. Skye was glad for that, everyone needed a place to call home, even if took them a while to find it again.


	3. Half-truths

It was near midnight when Ward finally pulled off the road and into a motel. He wanted to put as much distance as possible between his family and Sir before calling it a night. The motel wasn’t exactly a family destination but the rooms had a bed and the manager didn’t ask any questions, which was more than Ward could have hoped for.

Andy was fast asleep in the back seat of the car when they arrived and Ward carried him inside, lying the sleeping boy down on the bed and covering him with a blanket. Skye had been asleep in the passenger seat when Ward pulled into the motel but was just awake by the time he had checked in and got Andy into bed. Ward helped the hacker into bed where she fell right back to sleep. All Ward wanted to do was to climb into bed with his wife, however there was something he had to do before he did.

Making sure the room was secure and that both Skye and Andy were both fast asleep Ward left the room and took a seat in what the cheap motel considered an outdoor dining area, which was little more than a couple of plastic chairs and tables around a half empty pool. Turning his phone over and over in his hand Ward reconsidered his actions. If he made this move everything would change. Skye would probably be angry with him for it, for making the decision without her but at least she would be safe, at least Andy and their unborn child would be safe and to Ward that was all that mattered. Picking up the phone the former specialist dialled a number that had taken him almost two years to track down but always hoping he would never have to actually use it.

It took the woman longer to pick up than Ward expected and she didn’t sound particularly happy when she did, “When I find out who this is I will hunt you down and skin you alive, you hear me? Do you have any idea what time it is?”

Ward wasn’t scared, not of her, “No, Romanoff, I do not know what time it is. I have enough trouble figuring out what time zone I’m in, let alone worrying about which one you’re in.”

“Ward?” The Black Widow asked, clearly confused. There was some shuffling, Ward guessed he’d caught the woman sleeping and now forced her to actually think about getting out of bed, “It’s been three years, how did you get my number?”

“I have my ways,” Ward replied. He wasn’t going to admit to what they actually were, just in case the Black Widow decided to shut down his limited reach within the rebuilt SHIELD.

Natasha sighed, clearly annoyed that Ward wasn’t going to share any information about his contacts with her, “I doubt you’ve contacted me for the first time in three years to tell me you’ve breached our security. What do you want?”

Straight to the point, Ward could deal with that. Taking a deep breath the former specialist spoke, “Three years ago you offered to help me with those who blew up Coulson’s base,” And hurt Skye, but those words went unsaid. Ward needed everyone to believe Skye was dead for as long a possible, “I was wondering if the offer still stood.”

There was a pause before Natasha spoke again, “You know who did it?”

“I do,” Ward admitted. Not a lie, Ward had known who had set the bomb within days of it actually going off. What he didn’t mention, however, was that a month after settling on the farm he’d taken a weekend to make sure they would never be a threat to his family again. Skye had known where he’d gone, she also knew there hadn’t been any deaths but she never did ask what her husband, then fiancé, had done to make those men realise the depth of their mistake.

When Ward didn’t elaborate Natasha spoke, even without knowing who it was hatred lined her voice, “What do you need me to do?”

Ward took a deep breath, it was a big request after all, at least for him, “I need you to get me a meeting with Coulson.”

He wasn’t sure if the Black Widow was going to yell or laugh, so he was slightly surprised when Natasha responded somewhat calmly, “You do realize he will shoot you on sight and that’s only if he doesn’t bring an entire SWAT team on you?”

“I am aware,” Ward replied, he had thought at least some of his plan through, “But it’s important.”

There was a sigh from Natasha, “What makes you think he will even see you? As far as I know they all think you’re still in prison.”

Ward knew exactly who ‘they’ were, the team. He sighed, “I don’t expect him to meet me, at least knowing he’s going to meet me.”

Natasha almost laughed, “And how exactly do you expect to pull that off?”

Ward smiled to himself, “With your help.”

“Oh?” Natasha replied, “I’m not going to lie to Coulson, especially not for you.”

“I don’t need you to lie to him,” Ward replied, “Just tell him a couple of half-truths. That’s what you do best after all.”

There was a pause as Natasha seemed to think it over, finally the Black Widow sighed, “What do you expect me to say?”

Ward smiled, that as good as consent from the SHIELD agent, “Tell him a former SHIELD agent had some information about the explosion and wants to meet in person to discuss it. Alone.”

“The Director of SHIELD meeting an unknown source alone?” Natasha scoffed, “Coulson’s not stupid, and he’s never going to go for that, even if it is me that vouches for that source.”

“If he’s so worried he can bring you, and you alone, as back up,” Ward shrugged, “But if I see any other agents, and you know I will see them, then I’m gone and you never hear from me again.”

“I’ll do my best, but no promises,” Natasha agreed, “I assume you already have a meeting place in mind.”

“I do,” Ward admitted, “Tell Coulson this source will meet him at the same place he first met Skye in exactly thirty days. At noon.”

“A month?” Natasha was shocked, “Why not sooner?”

Ward couldn’t exactly tell her the truth, that Skye was too close to giving birth to make the international trip and that they would have to wait until the baby was born to make the trip to the states. Ward also knew that Natasha would spot a lie a mile away, so he decided to continue the way he had started, with half-truths, “Circumstances are preventing me from getting there anytime sooner. If Coulson wants the information so bad he’ll wait the month. He’s waited three years after all.”

“Is the information actually worth the wait?” Natasha asked.

“To Coulson it will be,” Ward assured, “To him it’s priceless.” Like before it wasn’t a lie but a half-truth. He wasn’t planning on giving Coulson any information but he was planning on giving him Skye to protect. If Sir knew that Skye was alive it was only a matter of time before the others how had once hunted her knew as well and with the full support of SHIELD Coulson could protect Skye and the children a hell of a lot better than Ward ever could.

Natasha obviously heard something in Ward’s voice, something that told her that she wasn’t getting the whole truth but she didn’t comment on it, “Okay. Like I said I’ll do my best but no promises.”

“I’ll be there in a month, whether you are or not. This is the only contact I’ll make until then,” Ward stated, “And like I said before, I see any agent that isn’t you or Coulson I’m gone, same deal if no one shows, I’m gone, the information is gone and you never hear from me again.”

“Bit dramatic there, Ward,” Natasha yawned.

“Not for me,” Ward snapped.

“Whatever,” Natasha yawned again, “I’m going back to bed. I might see you in a month, I might not. Whatever.”

The Black Widow hung up the phone without even bothering to find out if Ward had anything more to say, not that he did, the meeting was all he needed, the only thing he could think of that would protect his family from the storm that was coming.

When the line went dead Ward began to take the phone apart, he wouldn’t put it past Natasha Romanoff to try and track him through the call and Ward didn’t want SHIELD to find him and Skye, at least not yet.

Dropping what was left of the phone in the half empty pool Ward headed back towards the room, hoping to get at least a couple of hours sleep before it was time to move on. He was just about to enter the room when the door opened and Andy came running out, colliding with his father’s legs.

In a single move Ward picked up his son, “Hey, slow down. What up?”

Andy buried his face in his father’s chest, “Mommy wet the bed. She said the baby’s coming.”


	4. Real

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like there should be some warning about this chapter but I don’t know how to really describe it, so consider yourself warned, there is a birth in this chapter.

The pain was what woke Skye, the shooting pain across her abdomen forced the hacker up. Even though the baby wasn’t due for another three weeks Skye knew immediately what was happening, she’d had a false alarm about a week ago but something told Skye that this was the real thing. The hacker’s fears were confined when she sat up and felt the bed wet beneath her. She reached out to wake Ward only to realise that he wasn’t asleep beside her, in fact looking around the dark room Skye realised her husband wasn’t even there anymore.

Another contraction hit and Skye gripped the sheets waiting for it to pass, she needed Ward and he needed him now. Skye collapsed back on the bed and groaned, it was all happening way too fast. Her groan must have woken Andy because the three year old sat up in his bed, looking around for the sound that woke him.

Even in the dark Andy could see his mother’s distress, “Mommy?”

“Andy,” Skye groaned, “I need you to do something for mommy, please. I need you to go find daddy, okay?”

Andy looked worried at the tone of his mother’s voice as he got out of bed and crept over to Skye, “Mommy? Did you wet the bed? It’s bad to wet the bed.”

“I know honey,” Skye replied, burying her head in the pillow, “I need you to go get your dad now, please. Tell him the baby’s coming.”

Something in her voice must of scared Andy because the little boy took off running, he’d barely made it through the door before he collided with something, or someone.

Another contraction hit and Skye groaned fisted the sheets, this baby wanted to be born and it wanted to be born now.

When the pain passed Skye opened her eyes to find her husband kneeling by the bed, the hacker glared, “Where the hell have you been?”

“Fresh air,” Ward replied, as he helped Skye into a sitting position.

Resting against the head board Skye continued to glare, “You’re lying.”

“I am,” Ward admitted, “But now’s not the time to discuss it.”

Skye suddenly gripped Ward’s hand and squeezed as another contraction hit, they were getting worse and they were getting closer together.

When it passed Ward pulled his hand away, trying to shake some feeling back into it, “We need to get you to the hospital.”

Skye shook her head, “Sir knows I’m close, he’ll have them watched.” She screamed as another contraction ripped through her, “I don’t think we’ll make it anyway. Better here than on the side of the road.”

Hurrying to grab some towels from the bathroom Ward spoke softly, almost to himself, “This is happening way too fast.”

“You think?” Skye snapped as another contraction hit, she really wanted to push but didn’t, not yet. When it passed the hacker lent back against the head board, “Remember what Sif said three years ago?” That I get aspects of both human and Vanir pregnancies, well in some myths I looked at Vanir pregnancies are short and the labour quick. So it looks like I got the human pregnancy with the Vanir labour, we didn’t notice with Andy because I was unconscious at the time.” She yelled the last part as another contraction hit her in full force.

Ward dumped the towels on Andy’s bed and turned to Skye, “You seriously expect me to deliver this baby?”

“There’s no one else,” Skye snapped, “You’ve helped a lot of people out of this world now you get to help one into it.” She knew it was a low blow but it got her husband’s attention, she gave him a weak smile, “Besides you’ve seen everything that’s down there before, better you than some pervy doctor.”

Ward gave a weak smile. Something must have occurred to him because the former specialist suddenly picked up Andy’s pillows and a couple of blankets and headed into the bathroom, sweeping up his son, who had remained silent by the door, on the way. He returned a minute later without the little boy.

Before Skye could ask another contraction hit, she tried to limit the screaming but this one was bad and she couldn’t hold the sound back, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold out. When it passed she looked at Ward, “Where’s Andy?”

Her husband was by her bed before he spoke, “I made a fort and bed in the bath. There are something’s a kid doesn’t need to see.”

“Like his mother giving birth?” Skye almost laughed.

“Something like that,” Ward replied.

Another contraction hit and Skye muffled a scream, but this contraction felt different, lower and the hacker had to fight the very strong urge to push. “Get this baby out of me. Now,” She snapped at her husband.

Ward didn’t look particularly happy about the position he found himself in a couple of seconds later but he obviously knew better than to complain. “Ready?” He asked.

Skye just nodded, “I push, you catch and cut the cord. Simple, right?”

“Right,” Ward replied, sarcasm heavy in his voice.

When the next contraction hit Skye pushed, again and again the pain came she pushed until a cry filled the room and Skye collapsed back against her pillow. She wasn’t sure what Ward did down his end of the bed but a minute or later her husband was by her side carrying a small, towel wrapped bundle in his arms.

Ward smiled, “It’s a girl.”

Skye actually laughed, “Told you so.”

Ward kissed Skye’s hair, “I’ve never been happier to be wrong.”

Skye held out her arms and Ward passed her their daughter, “She’s beautiful.” Skye smiled at the bundle in her arms.

“Just like her mother,” Ward smiled, planting another kiss on Skye’s head.

“She needs a name,” Skye mumbled.

“Andy didn’t have a name for almost a week,” Ward reminded his wife.

“Yeah, well. I was unconscious then,” Skye replied, “Besides we already decided on names.”

Ward shook his head, “No, you told me what you wanted and I agreed with you. Even then I’m not entirely happy with it.”

Skye frowned, “What’s wrong with the names I chose.”

“Nothing,” Ward assured, “Adam Leopold if it was a boy, fine. I’m even happy with the first name of Avery for a girl, I mean if that agent hadn’t been there I wouldn’t have you.”

“But…” Skye sighed, only half listening to Ward as she concentrated more on her daughter than on her husband.

“But,” Ward continued, “I’m not entirely sure about naming her after a woman I slept with for a job who then turned around and put a nail through my foot is the best idea.”

“You’re just sore you lost that fight,” Skye mumbled.

“Not the point,” Ward replied, “What if she asks about her name?”

“We tell her the truth,” Skye shrugged, “That she’s named after two people who saved her mother’s life and we’ll deal with the rest as it comes.”

“I’m not going to win this one, am I?” Ward sighed.

“Never,” Skye smiled, “I’m too stubborn. It’s why you love me.”

Ward tilted Skye’s head up so she was looking up at him, he smiled, “One of many, many reasons.” He then kissed Skye on the lips, just a reminded her that he really did love her and their children.

Skye smiled when she pulled back from the kiss, her attention quickly returning to the child in her arms, “Welcome to the world, Avery Melinda Ward.”


	5. Safe

They had only planned to stay at the motel for a night but with the unexpected birth one night turned into three and both Skye and Ward got jumpier every day, afraid Sir would catch up with them. It took Ward those entire three days to admit to Skye about what he was doing outside that night, the night Avery was born.

They had finally left the motel just after dawn, Andy was fast asleep in the back seat while Skye had finally managed to get Avery to sleep in her arms. With both children asleep Skye asked the question, “What did you do?”

Ward didn’t need any explanation, he knew exactly what his was asking, and he just didn’t know how to answer because no matter how he did he knew it would lead to a fight. So the former specialist just chose not to answer, choosing instead to just concentrate on the road ahead.

However Skye wouldn’t take no, or silence, for an answer, “Grant Douglas Ward, you made a deal, didn’t you? Like you did in London? With Sir?”

“No,” Ward assured, gripping the wheel, “I did not make a deal with Sir.”

“But you did make a deal,” Skye concluded, it wasn’t a question.

“Not yet,” Ward replied, “I just got the ball rolling.”

“What did you do, Grant?” Skye repeated, shifting Avery slightly in her arms.

“I contacted Romanoff, that’s what,” Ward snapped.

“What? Why?” Skye asked, clearly confused, “Did you tell her I was alive?”

Ward shook his head, eyes still focused on the road ahead, “No, I didn’t tell her. All I did was ask her to get me a meeting with Coulson.”

“Coulson?” Skye asked, “Why?”

“He can protect you, Skye,” Ward sighed, “I told you long ago that as long as the world, hell worlds, thought you dead we were safer on our own. But as soon as people start to figure out the truth, as soon as people knew you survived, you were safer with the protection of SHIELD, of Coulson.”

“Ward,” Skye groaned, slipping into old habits, “This is not going to end well, not for you.”

“But you, Andy, Avery, you’ll all be safe,” Ward shrugged, “And that’s all I want, all I could ever ask for.”

Skye groaned, clearly frustrated with her husband, “I don’t need protection, I need you. I need my family and I need my husband.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ward assured Skye.

“You forget how well I know you, Grant,” Skye sighed, “I know what your plan is, what it’s always going to be, you’re going to get Coulson to help and then let them cart you off to whatever prison Fury pulled you out of.”

Ward gripped the wheel tighter and didn’t answer. Skye was right after all, that was the plan and as long as she was safe, as long as their children were safe Ward didn’t care what happened to him. They drove in silence for a while, neither Skye nor Ward wanted to be the one to bring the subject up again.

They drove for miles before Skye finally sighed and spoke again, “So what is this great plan of yours then?”

Ward raised an eyebrow, “You really want to know?”

Skye exhaled loudly, “Like I said before I know you too well. You’re going to through with this whether I want you to or not. So I best know what I’m getting myself into.”

“You know I love you, right?” Ward asked.

Skye smiled, “Always. Now tell me about your stupid plan.”

Ward smiled, “It’s not stupid.” He paused for a moment, “Well, maybe a little stupid.”

“A little?” Skye almost laughed, “I’m guessing it involves walking up to Coulson, saying hi and begging for his help.”

“Basically,” Ward admitted, “Coulson doesn’t know he’s meeting me, Romanoff agreed to keep that quiet at least.” Skye raised an eyebrow but let her husband continue, “Meeting is set for a month’s time, in L.A. I’ll meet Coulson and if it’s safe I’ll tell him you’re alive.”

“If it’s safe?” Skye asked, confusion showing on her face, “Why wouldn’t it be safe?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time SHIELD’s been compromised,” Ward sighed, “I’m not running the risk that it has.”

Skye smiled, “You really are overprotective, you know?”

Ward grinned, “It’s why you love me, right?”

“One of many, many reasons,” Skye laughed, echoing her husband’s words from when their daughter was born.

Ward continued to grin as he drove in silence for a while. Skye didn’t pry again because she knew that was the entirety of Ward’s plan. It was stupid and it probably wouldn’t go exactly as they planned it but it was the only one they had. The whole plan relied on the hope that Coulson didn’t shoot Ward on sighed. However the biggest fact it relied on was that SHIELD was capable of keeping Skye safe and neither Skye nor Ward were fully convinced that they could.

“Promise me something, Grant?” Skye almost whispered.

Ward smiled, “Anything.”

Skye turned to face her husband, balancing her sleeping newborn carefully, “Promise me you won’t let them take you from me.”

Ward kept his eyes on the road, “I promise.” It was a lie, one neither of them believed but it was a comfort none the less.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please keep the comments coming, they make my day


	6. Lost

Phil Coulson hadn’t changed that much in three years, at least not physically. On the outside Coulson was the same man he had been when he’d lost Skye but on the inside he was broken, inside he was lost.

SHIELD was finally starting to get back in its feet, with Coulson at its head. There were till dome trust issues, some governments still wouldn’t let the organization operate with its borders but that was changing on almost a daily basis. SHIELD was growing and Coulson couldn’t help but think about those he had lost to make that happen.

Coulson spent most of his time in Stark Tower, it was where he lived and where he worked. He barely saw the team he had once called family. May was around, in fact the only reason she had stayed this long was for Coulson, and without him The Calvary would have taken off years ago. FitzSimmons visited the tower every so often, they worked for Stark after all but they spent most of their days at an offsite R & D lab, they lived in separate apartments in the city and like Coulson, they too were lost. Coulson hadn’t seen Trip in almost a year, sometimes he worked for SHIELD and sometimes he worked for Captain America and the Avengers, Coulson didn’t even know how to contact the specialist anymore, Trip wasn’t lost to himself as much as the others but he was lost to the remains of Coulson’s team. They were all lost to each other, they were all broken inside.

Coulson spent most of his waking hours in his office in Stark Tower and that’s where he was when the Black Widow came to see him.

Natasha Romanoff had spent the past three months in Russia and she wasn’t happy about it. The assassin just sat in the chair on the other side of Coulson’s desk and glared.

It was starting to creep Coulson out a little, he sighed, “You asked to meet for a reason, Agent Romanoff. What do you want?”

Natasha crossed her feet on Coulson’s desk, “I got a phone call from an old friend.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow, “And?”

“And he had some interesting information to share,” Natasha shrugged.

“Which was?” Coulson asked.

“He wouldn’t say,” Natasha admitted, “Not to me, not over the phone.”

“So why come to me?” Coulson asked, clearly confused about where this conversation was going.

“He wants to meet in person,” Natasha replied.

“So go meet him,” Coulson sighed, “Once again, what does this have to do with me?”

“He doesn’t want to meet me,” The Black Widow snapped.

“Me?” Coulson sat up straighter, obviously surprised, “Is the information that important?”

Natasha sighed, sitting up and taking her feet off Coulson’s desk, “More personal they world changing, but yeah it’s important.”

“Do you at least have any idea what it could be about?” Coulson asked.

Natasha replied with one word, one word that changed everything, “Skye.”

Coulson froze, he rarely spoke about the hacker but everyone knew it was her death that changed Coulson and if you wanted to keep your job it was the one topic you didn’t bring up with the Director of SHIELD.

Natasha remained silent, letting Coulson deal with her word in his own time.

Coulson took a deep breath before he finally spoke again, “What about?”

Natasha sighed again, wondering if this was a good idea after all, meeting Ward might be the thing that pushed Coulson over the edge. However the assassin needed answers as badly as the Director, so she spoke, “He claims to have information about the explosion.”

Coulson shifted in his seat before answering, “Do you believe he has those answers?”

“I do,” Natasha replied simply, it was the truth.

“Why?” Coulson asked, “Why do you trust him?”

“The whole truth?” Natasha asked, when Coulson just nodded in response the Black Widow continued, “My source is an ex-SHIELD agent who worked for Fury after the fall. He was in Russia with me and helped me get Fitz’s cure. I know for a fact that he was part of the team Fury had watching you in London and I’ve always suspected, although he would never confirm, that he was part of the team in Australia. He had since left Fury’s employ, this is the first time I’ve spoken to him in three years.”

“He got a name?” Coulson asked.

“He does,” Natasha admitted, then sighed, “But that’s the one thing I cannot tell you. All you need to know is that I trust him and Fury trusted him, so you can trust him.”

“This guy is good at hiding, isn’t he?” Coulson asked.

“One of the best,” Natasha admitted.

“If he’s that good then he’s already set the meeting and all I have to do I show, right?” Coulson concluded.

“Time and place,” Natasha admitted, “Not that it is one I understand.”

“Oh?” Coulson asked, obviously confused. The Black Widow was one of the best code breakers there was, if she couldn’t figure it out he had no hope.

“Noon, in twenty days,” Natasha replied, “In the same place you met Skye. I assume you know what that means.”

Coulson nodded, “Yeah, it’s in L.A. The question is how does he know that?”

“Beats me,” Natasha shrugged, “Oh, there was one other message: Come alone or the information is gone for good.”

“Tell me the truth, Natasha,” Coulson asked, “Is this information worth it?”

Natasha seemed to think about it before nodding, “This guy has more enemies than you and I combined so if he’s willing to come out of hiding to share it the, yeah, it’s worth the wait and it’s certainly worth going at it alone.”

* * *

After Natasha had left Coulson sat alone in his office thinking about the message she had delivered, the information this source offered. In three years, and with SHIELD and Stark Industries support, Coulson had never been able to turn up any credible leads on the base explosion, only a couple of dead ends. This information wouldn’t just be priceless to him but to the remains of his team as well and they deserved the chance to hear it as soon as possible. It would take some doing but if he could get the Bus out of storage and get the team together this information could help them all find a little peace. Help them all find their way again.

May was the easiest to convince, all Coulson had to do was ask and the Calvary was on board. She agreed to get the Bus out of storage and fly it on one last mission.

Fitz was somewhat harder to convince but eventually agreed, if only to get the information about Skye’s death and have a chance to actually do something about it.

Simmons almost said no, in fact she did say it several times before giving in. The biochemist had tried to move one with her life but she had been broken far more than Coulson by Skye’s death, she still blamed herself and she didn’t want to open herself to those feelings again.

Unfortunately Trip was impossible to locate, he wouldn’t be hearing this information with the others. Coulson just hoped that one day he could share it with the specialist and give the man some peace.

That’s what they all needed, peace. A chance to find themselves again after the loss of their friend and hopefully this lead Natasha offered would bring that. Hopefully L.A. would bring answers.


	7. Plans

Skye wasn’t sure if it was the city that had changed or her. L.A. had been her home once, she’d lived in its back alleys, just scrapping by and she had been content with that life but now she knew that it had only been contentment, not happiness. It hadn’t been truly living. This time when she arrived in the city she wasn’t parking her van in some alley, alone, she was checking into a hotel, with her family. It wasn’t much but it was better than some of the places they had hidden over the last month, Sir was getting closer and Skye knew it.

The flight into the states, at least the final one, had taken it out of everyone. After making sure her children were fast asleep all Skye wanted to do was sleep for a solid twelve hours with her husband’s arms around her, something she hadn’t done since Avery was born. However that wasn’t an option, the meeting with Coulson was set for tomorrow and while Ward had doubts Skye knew the Director of SHIELD would show. They needed a plan, more than just hoping Coulson didn’t shoot Ward on sight.

It had taken some doing by Ward had managed to get them a set of rooms, Skye sighed as she closed the door that separated the lounge from the room in which her children slept. Her husband was waiting on the couch and grinned like a teenager when Skye walked over and straddled his lap.

Ward gripped Skye’s hips, “I’ve missed this, and I’ve missed you.”

Skye lent into a kiss, hands slipping into Ward’s hair to pull him closer, she groaned in frustration when Ward pulled back. One of the perks of whatever alien heritage Skye had was that her body healed quickly after the pregnancy. She wanted more, she needed more.

“Skye…” Ward groaned as he pulled back, “We can’t, we need a plan.”

“It’s a stupid plan,” Skye replied, kissing her way down Ward’s neck.

Ward suddenly flipped Skye, pushing her into the couch, Skye smiled but instead of kissing the hacker the former specialist pulled back and rolled off Skye, “We need to stop.”

Skye groaned, then sighed, “Fine.” She turned to face Ward, “What’s the plan? We go to meet Coulson and…”

“I go meet Coulson,” Ward corrected, “You’re going to go into hiding, if it’s safe I’ll come and get you.”

“And if it’s not?” Skye asked, sitting up.

“Then you take the kids and run for as long and as far as you possibly can,” Ward replied.

“What about you?” Skye asked, “If it’s not safe, what happens to you?”

“Most likely, I go back to prison,” Ward sighed, “I doubt Coulson’s going to just let me walk away.”

“No,” Skye agreed, “But you’re going to escape.”

“Skye…” Ward sighed, “He’ll have half of SHIELD backing him up, if it’s not safe for you then I’m not telling Coulson anything and I doubt I’ll be given the chance to escape again.”

“Yes, you will,” Skye said, standing up and walking over to the table, rummaging through her bag the hacker pulled out a small device, an older generation iPod nano, and walked back to her husband, passing him the device.

Ward raised an eyebrow as he took the iPod from Skye, “What’s this?”

“A hack,” Skye replied, sitting back down, “If Coulson knows he might be getting information about my death he’s going to bring the team and the Bus for back up, he’ll want to act on any info he gets as soon as possible. If he brings you in, he’ll put you in the cage, this hack will open the roof.”

“The roof?” Ward asked.

“Not in flight, obviously,” Skye laughed, “But on the ground all you have to do is put your thumb on the screen and climb out. Simple.”

“Simple?” Ward smiled, “If you say so.”

Skye grinned, “As long as they haven’t changed the security protocols too much you should be fine.”

“As long as you’re fine, Skye,” Ward replied, “I don’t care what happens to me.”

“Just promise me you’ll try to get away,” Skye begged, “If it’s not safe for me then it’s not safe for you. If you get caught and SHIELD isn’t secure then Sir will find you and we both know what happens then.”

Ward pulled Skye into a hug, “I promise I won’t do anything to put you or the kids in danger.”

Skye huddled close to her husband’s chest, “Just promise you’ll come back to me.”

“I promise to try,” Ward replied, planting a kiss on Skye’s head. That was all he could do, try.

Skye pulled back, “We need a meeting place, some place you can bring Coulson if it’s safe and can escape to if it’s not.”

Ward thought about it for a while before answering, “The station. The one where we tracked Peterson to. If we have to escape we just catch a train and disappear again.”

“So I wait with kids for you to join us?” Skye asked, “For how long?”

“The meeting’s set for noon,” Ward replied. “If I’m not at the station, with or without Coulson, by eight then you take the kids and run. Go to the safe house in Vegas and I’ll join you if I can.”

“When you can,” Skye corrected.

“When I can,” Ward agreed, tilting Skye’s head up he planted a kiss on his wife’s lips.

Skye deepened the kiss, pulling herself back into Ward’s lap, she pulled his shirt off and trailed kisses down her husband’s chest.

Ward groaned, pulling Skye back up so he could kiss her on the lips again, letting his own hands wonder beneath her shirt. They both needed this, if everything went according to Ward’s own plan, the one he hadn’t told Skye about, then this was the last time they might be together for a long time.

* * *

Skye untangled herself from her husband’s sleeping form when their daughter decided it was a good time to wake up, despite the fact it was still dark outside.

Smiling Skye picked up the crying girl, letting Avery know she was safe, “Shhh. Everything’s okay, baby. Mommy’s here. I’ll always be here.”

Slowly Skye managed to get her daughter back to sleep, after a quick feed. Climbing back into bed Ward unconsciously wrapped his arms around Skye and she sunk into his embrace. The hacker knew her husband well enough to know he hadn’t told her the whole plan, what he was willing to do to keep his family safe. However for now she didn’t care, she had her husband and she had her children. Tomorrow could wait, the plan could wait. Skye was happy and for once no nightmares came.


	8. Wonder

The trip to L.A. had to be one of the most uneventful Bus rides Coulson had ever been on. May flew the plan in silence, at least that much hadn’t changed in three years. However FitzSimmons didn’t argue or even tinker in the lab, they couldn’t even seem to tolerate being in the same room anymore. They were hardly FitzSimmons anymore, just Fitz and Simmons. The Black Widow had tagged along too, for the pure fact that it was her contact that Coulson was meeting. Natasha kept to herself and tended to leave the rest of Coulson’s team alone.

Coulson spent ninety percent of the trip locked in his old office, going over the plan again and again. He’d had Agent Romanoff go over her sources message half a dozen times, picking up every last detail that he could. The location of meet was simple, he’d first met Skye when he and Ward had pulled the hacker from her van outside a diner in L.A., Coulson gave a brief thought to the specialist who had helped in that task but Ward was in jail and not the Director’s problem anymore so the thought just slipped away, leaving the Director of SHIELD to focus on the task at hand. Other parts of the contact’s message were harder for Coulson to grasp, not because they were cryptic but because they put at least one of the meeting parties in danger. The man, Coulson knew that much, wanted to meet alone, which put Coulson at a major disadvantage however the source had never mentioned coming unarmed, Coulson wasn’t sure if that was an oversight or a concession, either way he was going to take advantage of it, although he wasn’t going lethal only arming himself with ICERs.

Coulson spent most his time wondering about the source himself, he’d been unable to squeeze any more info about him from Agent Romanoff than she’d given the Director in that first meeting. Although the Black Widow was known for her ability to lie something told Coulson that this time she hadn’t been. That this source was ex-SHIELD and had worked for Fury after the organization broke apart but Coulson also knew the man no longer worked for the underground director and Natasha had been unwilling to circumstances of the source’s departure from Fury’s employ, something that did make the current Director of SHIELD wonder. Coulson also knew that this man had been in London, part of the team that had gone dark and forced the team to abandon the base. Whatever had happened this man had survived and Natasha even suspected he’d been part of the team in Australia, the team they suspected Skye had made contact with. Natasha had mentioned his last contact had been three years ago, which would have been just after Skye’s death, if he’d dropped off the grid then that was probably when he’d left Fury which also meant this could be the man Thor had mentioned, the one who sought justice for Skye. Everything about this meeting made Coulson wonder.

The plane touched down just after eight in the morning, giving Coulson four hours to make the meeting, giving the team more than enough time to go over the plan at least once more.

It was strange being back in the briefing room again after all this time.

May wasn’t happy about letting Coulson go into this meeting blind and for once wasn’t above letting the Director know her feelings, “Give me ten minutes to scout the place out, make sure it’s safe. I don’t even have to go to the meeting with you, just make sure there is a meeting and not a trap.”

It was Natasha that spoke up before Coulson did, shaking her head, “This guy is good, he will spot you and when he does he’s gone and any hope of finding out who killed Skye goes with him.”

Surprisingly it was Fitz that spoke up next, “This guy trusts us with info on Skye but he doesn’t want us there to hear it? I mean he’s got to know whatever he tells Coulson Coulson’s going to tell us, so why all the secrecy?”

Natasha paused before answering, obviously thinking about how to phrase the answer, she sighed, “Look, this guy, I trust him, I mean he helped get Fitz’s cure out of Russia for starters. But as far as his trust goes, it’s pretty limited, non-existent in fact. If he’s coming to you now it’s out of pure desperation. This guy had half the known world after him and the other half would be if they knew who he was. My guess is he will give Coulson this information and never be heard from again. The only reason he’s telling you this info in the first place is the same reason Coulson brought you along, for Skye. He knows Skye was family and he’s giving you the chance to act. I say take what you can get and be grateful.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow and looked around at his team, “Anymore questions or can we go over the plan again?”

“Again?” May asked, “We’ve been over it a dozen times. You be an idiot, right? Walk in and hope you walk away?”

“Pretty much,” Coulson admitted, “And you’ll wait here for the news.”

“I’m keeping a local SHIELD team on standby, just in case,” May stated, it wasn’t a question. The Calvary turned to Agent Romanoff, “I assume if we keep them far enough back then they won’t be spotted?”

Natasha shook her head, “Keep them here with you. He already knows we’re all here, he probably watched the local SHIELD base too, so if any agent goes anywhere but here or there, he’s gone.”

“Paranoid much?” Simmons snapped, speaking for the first time.

Natasha shrugged, “It’s how he survives, how we all survive.”     

* * *

The diner was busy, it was lunch time after all, and Coulson wondered how he was meant to know the contact, his only hope was that the contact knew him.

It was just past noon when Coulson realized his mistake. There was no way a hunted man would ever meet in such a crowded place, a place that was frequented by the local police precinct. It also wasn’t the place where Coulson had first met Skye. The alley next door, however, was a different story, it had one entrance, one exit and people tended to avoid it as much as possible.

Leaving the diner as quickly as he came Coulson made his way outside. Drawing his gun Coulson swept the alley, he’s been out of the field for a while but he hadn’t slipped that far, if this was a trap he wouldn’t go down easy.

However the person waiting in the alley had other ideas, Natasha had warned him that her contact was good, one of the best, but Coulson hadn’t realised just how good he really was. Coulson was unarmed and pinned to the ground in a matter of seconds, his own gun now pointed at him.

Grant Ward stood above Coulson, he looked around, obviously waiting to see if The Calvary arrived to help, when she didn’t Ward actually lowered the gun and handed it, handle first, back to Coulson, “We need to talk.”


	9. Confrontations

Ward wasn’t sure that giving Coulson back the gun was the best idea in the world but it must have brought him some trust because the Director of SHIELD didn’t shoot him, at least he hadn’t yet.

Ward took a step back and allowed Coulson to get to his feet, the former specialist kept his hands open and in the air, trying to prove to his former boss that he wasn’t a threat. Ward fully expected what came next, Coulson’s fist colliding with his jaw, he could have stopped the blow but he let Coulson have that one and the next one but he stopped the third one, catching Coulson’s punch before it collided with his face.

Coulson took a step back, raising his gun back up he pointed it at Ward, “How the hell are you out of jail? And where the hell is Natasha’s contact?”

With his hands raised Ward just gave a guilty smile and shrugged.

The shock was evident of Coulson’s face, “You’re Natasha’s contact?”

“I am,” Ward replied, hands still raised.

“You worked for Fury?” Coulson asked, still not entirely convinced that he was Agent Romanoff’s contact.

“For a while,” Ward admitted, “He got me out of jail, I worked a couple of jobs for him but after Skye… after the explosion I left.”

Coulson lowered the gun slightly, only slightly, “You were in Australia?”

Ward nodded, “Australia, London, Paris, Rome. I went everywhere you did.”

“Why?” It was the only question Coulson could ask, “For Fury? HYDRA? Why, Ward? Why follow us?”

“For Skye,” Ward snapped, “Always for Skye.”

“For Skye?” Coulson almost laughed, “If you were in Australia then you should have been there for her, you and your team should have saved her.”

Now it was Ward’s turn to laugh, “A team? You really believe Fury sent a team. There was only me, no matter how much I begged him to send a team, only me and I tried, if you don’t believe anything else I say believe that, I tried but I couldn’t be everywhere and she burned for it.” Not a lie, Ward had promised himself he wouldn’t lie, or at least limit the lies he did tell but that hadn’t been a lie, Skye had burned and she still had the scars.

Coulson paused at that, “Why are you here, Ward? Why risk letting me know you’re out of jail?”

Ward actually looked a little hurt at that one, “The same reason I followed you for months and the same reason you dragged May and FitzSimmons all the way out here. For her.”

Coulson took a step forward, raising the gun again, “You know who set the bomb?”

“I do.”

“Do you know where to find them?” Coulson asked.

“Perhaps,” Ward smiled, “But that’s not the question you’ve been dying to ask since you realised I was your contact, actually I believe there are two questions.”

“Did Natasha know?” Coulson snapped.

Ward smiled, part of him was actually enjoying this, “Did Natasha know what?”

“Did she know he was sending me to you?” Coulson asked.

“She did,” Ward admitted, “Why do you think she didn’t mention a name? No doubt you asked her and no doubt she refused to tell you. Next question?”

“Did Skye know you were following us?” Coulson asked, actually afraid of the answer.

That was one question Ward didn’t want to answer truthfully, at least not yet, but knew he had to. Even if the answer did hurt Coulson, “She did.”

“How long?” Coulson growled, “How long did she lie to us for?”

Ward was about to answer, to admit to what happened in London, when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning the former specialist just managed to jump out of the way in time to avoid the blow aimed at the back of his head.

Ward was never particularly happy to see his father in law but this was a whole new level of hatred. He’d come here to protect his wife not lead the man she needed protection from right to her.

Coulson was obviously confused by the bleeding and scarred man now throwing punches at Ward, the director stepping back to avoid a wide blow himself, but Ward had far more pressing matters to deal with. Ward had changed drastically since his last fight with Sir, almost four years ago in London, and he wasn’t going to be caught off guard again. He even managed to land a punch against Sir’s jaw sending the bloody man stumbling back, which allowed Ward to regain his own footing.

Ward spat out blood, despite his best efforts the man had landed a few punches, “How did you find me?”

Sir smiled his bloody smile, “You’re not the only one with friends. They tell me your friends here’s going to a secret meeting and it didn’t take me long to figure out who it was with.”

Ward groaned, wiping blood from his mouth, “You’re inside SHIELD.”

“I’m everywhere.”

“Oh, just drop dead,” Ward snapped.

The gunshot echoed through the alley and for the second time in a month Sir dropped to the ground, blue veins spreading across his face.

Ward turned to face Coulson, who still had the gun raised, “Thanks.”

“What the hell is going on?” Coulson snapped.

“I’m sorry,” Ward replied, shaking his head as he looked at the body on the alley floor, “But he had friends in SHIELD, you can’t be trusted. SHIELD still isn’t safe.”

“Who is this man? Why is he after you?” Coulson asked, gesturing to the unconscious man.

“Someone who believes I took something that belongs to him,” Ward replied.

“Did you?”

Ward looked angry at the question, “It was never his,” Ward snapped, he then gave a weak smile, “But if you want answers about the explosion ask him, he didn’t set the bomb but he’s the reason it was there.”

“Ward…” Coulson started.

“No,” Ward interrupted, “SHIELD is compromised, I can’t trust you with what I know.”

Without waiting for Coulson to answer Ward took off, he needed to get his family far away from here.

* * *

The second Ward disappeared from the alley Coulson knew he had no chance of catching him, not here, not if Ward didn’t want to be caught.

Pulling his phone out Coulson dialled 1 on his speed dial.

May picked up almost instantly, “Tell me you didn’t get yourself shot.”

“I didn’t get myself shot,” Coulson snapped, “But we do have a big problem.”

May sighed, “How big?”

“I need someone here to pick up a prisoner, plus someone to watch him on the Bus,” Before May could interrupt Coulson continued, “Contact the local authorities, close the bus and train stations and watch the roads out. You can head that one up personally, we’ve got someone we need to catch, someone with answers.” He paused for a moment before adding one final message, “And ask Agent Romanoff why the hell she didn’t tell us Grant Ward was out of jail.”


	10. Compromised

Skye knew something had gone terribly wrong when her emergency cell rang a little after two, she was still in the hotel and the only one to have the number was her husband who wouldn’t be calling unless he was truly desperate. Even if SHIELD was compromised Ward would just meet her at the station. If he was calling something had gone very, very wrong.

Skye picked up the phone, talking before Ward could, “Did you use the hack?”

“I didn’t even make it to the Bus,” Ward replied quickly, “Sir made the meet.”

Panic flooded through Skye. They had suspected her father might have contacts within SHIELD, those who could get to Ward if he was in prison or even on the Bus but they had never thought that Sir would make the meeting himself, after all Coulson didn’t even know who he was going to meet.

Skye tried to keep the panic out of her voice, tried and failed, “Are you okay?”

“I’ll live,” Ward replied, which told Skye Sir had managed to get a few good blows in but at least Ward was talking which meant he’d come out of the fight better than he had in London four years ago.

Skye sighed, “This still counts as SHIELD being compromised so what aren’t you telling me? What’s going on?”

“Coulson’s got Sir in custody but I ran before back up could get me,” Ward replied quickly and continued before Skye could interrupt, “But it looks like Coulson’s not going to let me get away that easily, the station’s closed and locked down, so it looks like we’re not going anywhere by train or bus.”

Skye groaned, stupid Coulson for not letting Ward just escape, “What’s plan B?”

Ward paused before answering, “Do you know how to hot wire a car?”

“You want me to steal a car?” Skye was shocked, for three years she had avoided any sort of illegal activity, the kind of things that drew attention, the kind of things that got you caught and now Ward was actually asking her to do something potentially dangerous.

“I want you to get to the safe house,” Ward replied, “Bus and train lines are being watched, which means the airports are probably out too. However there are way too many roads to check everyone going out of town carefully. They’re looking for me, not a woman with two kids. So I ask again, do you know how to hot wire a car?”

Skye sighed, this was soldier Ward, the man she’d first met all those years ago, the man who would do anything to complete his mission and right now his mission was protecting Skye. So there would be no arguing with him, not about this, “Yes, Grant, I can hot wire a car. Misspent youth and all.”

“Take the kids and disappear,” Ward replied, “If SHIELD has people here then so does Sir. L.A. isn’t safe anymore, get to the safe house as soon as possible.”

“What about you?” Skye asked.

“Skye…” Ward sighed, “They’re after me, and they’ll follow me. I’ll try to make it to the safe house but I can’t promise anything, at least not anytime soon.”

“Grant Douglas Ward, you listen to me right now,” Skye snapped angrily, “I am not going to explain to our children why their father isn’t here. So you come home to me, okay? I don’t care if hell is five steps behind you, you come home to me.”

“Skye…” Ward sighed, the sound echoing down the phone line. This wasn’t the soldier, this was Skye’s husband and he was breaking. Even over the phone Skye could tell he was torn between being with her and keeping her safe, “I promise to try, we both know that’s all I can do.”

“I know the rules we made, Grant,” Skye replied, “But break them, just this once, keep the phone. I need to be able to contact you again, not wait for you to contact me.”

There was a paused before Ward replied softly, “Okay.”

“I love you,” Skye replied.

“I love you too,” Ward replied. He hung up the phone before Skye could say anymore. It was the best way the call could end, before they had another fight.

* * *

Stealing a car wasn’t exactly difficult for Skye, it was stealing a car while watching a tree year old and a new born that proved a challenge for the hacker. Eventually Skye managed to find a car that could accommodate her and her children and hopefully wouldn’t be reported missing anytime soon, giving the hacker enough time to get past the road blocks that had been put up around the city. Coulson was obviously desperate to catch up with Ward and Skye could only hope it was for the information the Director of SHIELD thought her husband possessed about her so called death and not some sought of revenge kick that Coulson had since HYDRA’s rise.

The streets were jammed as people tried to make their way out of the city and Skye groaned when she realised that most of the cars, in fact almost all of them, were not being searched but turned back. SHIELD obviously weren’t taking any risks when it came to the capture of Grant Ward.

The hacker smiled sweetly to the officer, luckily police and not SHIELD, who was assigned to check her car at the blockade, “What’s going on?”

“Escaped prisoner, miss,” The officer replied, “I’m afraid you’re going to have to turn around and go home.”

“That’s going to be hard when home is on the other side of this barrier,” Skye snapped.

“I’m sorry,” The officer replied, actually looking like he meant the words, “But I’ve got my orders and no one is leaving anytime soon.”

Skye sighed, “Look, I’ve got two kids who really need to get home for their nap. Is there any chance you could speak really nicely to your supervisor and I could get home soon?”

The officer raised an eyebrow, “I don’t know, the supervisor is a real hard ass.”

Skye smiled, “Then let me ask. I can be persuasive.”

The officer smiled, “Sure, I can ask but no promises. Give me a minute.”

“Thanks,” Skye smiled sweetly as the police man walked away. She groaned, this was never going to work but she had to try.

Of course Avery chose this moment to start crying. Turning in her seat Skye placed a hand on her daughter’s seat and rocked it slightly, “There, there, honey. We’re almost out of here.”

Skye heard the footsteps approach, no doubt the officer returning, and continued to focus on her crying daughter, the officer could wait.

There was a cough, “I hear you want to cross my blockade.”

Skye froze, she knew that voice and before she could stop herself she whipped around to face the speaker, “May?”

“Skye?”


	11. Ghost

Melinda May wasn’t sure if Coulson was punishing her or trying to keep her out of trouble when he assigned her to watch the roads. Either way May was pissed, if there was one thing she hated more than undercover it was sitting around and waiting for nothing to happen, because there was no chance Grant Ward would be stupid enough to leave the city, especially via the blockade.

May hadn’t been sure what to think when Coulson called her, not only asking for a prisoner pick up but demanding answers about the release of former Agent Ward. It had taken some arm twisting, literally, but eventually the Black Widow had told the Calvary everything. That she had known Ward was out of jail, that she had knowingly sent Coulson to meet him. Unfortunately May actually believed the assassin when she described Ward’s time with Fury, that he really had been the one to help Natasha get Fitz’s cure out of Russia, that Ward had been watching the team for months and that Ward really would have answers about Skye’s death, which meant he had to be captured alive. When Coulson returned, with agents dragging an unconscious and bloody man, the three of them had agreed not to mention Ward’s reappearance to Fitz or Simmons, at least for now. The man Coulson had dragged in was locked in the cage and May had to wonder why, after all he had attacked Ward at the meeting and not Coulson. Unfortunately she had been put on babysitting duty before any other details could be given to her. Something was up with Coulson, more than just Ward being out of jail, something the former specialist told the Director of SHIELD had spooked him and he wasn’t sharing, not even with May.

May knew that when she did finally get back to the Bus she was doing have a long, firm talk with Coulson. The Director had at least told her that Ward hadn’t spilled his knowledge of Skye’s death, that that was the reason Coulson wanted him caught but May suspected that Ward had told him something before he ran, not about Skye’s death but more than likely it had been about the hacker and May had to wonder if that was what Coulson really wanted answers about.

Sitting alone in a SHIELD surveillance truck May was starting to get annoyed. Ward wasn’t stupid enough to try and leave the city by road, so she had to wonder what her job actually was, more than likely it was just staying out of Coulson’s way.

For the task at hand SHIELD had partnered with the local police force, the organization didn’t have the numbers it once did after all, with the police officers checking and turning back the vehicles with oversight from SHIELD. May’s job was simple, but annoying. It was the Calvary’s job to deal with the complainers, deal with those who wouldn’t let a simple officer tell they couldn’t cross the city limits. It was days like today May actually missed working in SHIELD admin. There were some that May let pass, special cases and those there was no chance Ward was working with, so she wasn’t surprised when an officer came to her with what he considered a special case, a mother with two young children, just trying to get home.

May sighed as she left the truck, this was probably going to be one of those times that she gave in, even the cold hearted Calvary had a soft spot for children.

The car that awaited May was a black SUV, the front window was down and as she approached May saw the driver, a woman, no doubt the mother. May also heard a baby crying, no doubt the reason why the woman’s back was to May. So she coughed, hoping to gain the woman’s attention, “I hear you want to cross my barricade.” When in doubt act tough.

The woman suddenly whipped around and the Calvary froze at the ghost before her. Her blood ran cold as the ghost spoke, “May?”

When the ghost spoke her name May unfroze, finding her voice again, “Skye?”


	12. Why?

May looked like she had seen a ghost and honestly Skye had no idea what to say. The last time the hacker had seen her May had been taking off in the Bus for New Zealand with Trip and Coulson, within hours the house exploded and May believed her dead. However Skye had other things on her mind right now besides the old friend currently starring at her, namely her crying daughter in the back seat. Choosing to ignore May for now Skye focused on Avery, unfortunately it was difficult to calm her daughter in the back seat when Skye was still seated in the front. Finally giving in the hacker turned the car off and opened the front door, May took a step back and allowed her to get out, the Calvary just continuing to stare at the ghost before her.

Carefully unbuckling Avery, Skye picked up her daughter and the baby immediately stopped crying. The hacker smiled, Avery really was her father’s daughter.

Sighing Skye turned back to May and smiled weakly, “Hi.”

May looked Skye up and down before speaking, “So you survived.” It wasn’t a question.

Skye nodded weakly, “Yeah.”

May eyed Andy, who was still seated in the car, “The baby survived too?”

Skye nodded again, “His name is Andrew,” She shifted Avery slightly in her arms, “This is Avery.”

May raised an eyebrow at the name, she knew all about the agent that had saved Skye when she was a baby, “So I assume you met someone.”

Skye smiled, “And married him.”

May sighed, “Why, Skye?”

“Why what, May?” Skye asked innocently, “Why fake my death? Why not tell the team I was alive? Or why am I here now?”

“How about all of the above,” May snapped.

“That might take a while,” Skye replied.

“I’ve got all the time in the world,” May shrugged.

“Well I don’t,” Skye snapped. The second May filed any form of report, made any kind of communication indicating that she was alive and in the city then everyone would know. Not just Sir but the Asgardians, HYDRA, AIM, all those who wanted her and her children captured or worse, dead. SHIELD was compromised and Skye couldn’t take any chances, even for the team.

May must have seen some sort of panic on the hacker’s face because the Calvary’s look softened slightly, “What is going on?”

Skye shook her head, “Please, just let me go. Pretend you never saw me. Keep pretending I’m dead. Please,” She begged, “It’s safer for all of us that way.”

“Skye?” May asked worriedly, “Whatever you’ve gotten yourself into we can help, please?”

Skye shook her head again, placing Avery back into her car seat, “I’m sorry, I really am. It’s been torture letting you believe I’m dead but SHIELD is compromised and I can’t take that risk, not with my children.”

“Compromised?” May asked, slightly shocked, that’s what Ward had told Coulson after the attack, that SHIELD was still compromised, that it wasn’t safe for him to give them any information. Understanding washed over May, Ward hadn’t been planning on giving them any information about Skye’s death, how could he if Skye was actually alive. Ward had been planning to tell Coulson the truth, that Skye was alive and that someone was after her and now that someone was inside SHIELD making it impossible for Skye to return safely.

While May had been thinking Skye had secured Avery back in her seat and had closed the back door, getting into the driver’s seat. Before she closed the door May put a hand on the hacker’s shoulder, “Please, Skye. Just give me a couple of minutes and a couple of answers. I promise I won’t file any reports and if when we’re done you don’t want me to tell anyone you’re alive, I won’t.”

Skye eyed May suspiciously, it wasn’t like May to brake protocol but no reports meant no one other than May would know of her survival, “Not even Coulson?”

May took a deep breath but nodded, “Not even Coulson,” She agreed. If Skye couldn’t be convinced to stay there would be no point in telling the Director of SHIELD about her survival, Coulson would only go after her, using SHIELD resources, which, if both Ward and Skye said was true, would put the hacker in danger.

Skye paused for a moment, she desperately wanted to talk to May, to talk to the whole team in fact, to let them be a part of his life again, to be a part of his children’s lives. That had been the plan after all, to re-join the team but SHIELD had been compromised, and if Sir had eyes inside everyone else did too. However May, and the team, weren’t just SHIELD, they were family and after everything that had happened lately Skye needed her family. She nodded, “Okay.”

May took a step back, “We can talk in the truck. Don’t worry, we’ll be alone and it’s secure. No one will ever know you were there.”

“Fine,” Skye agreed. Getting back out of the car she opened the back door and began getting both Avery and Andy out of the car, “But my kids come with me.”

May actually smiled, “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” She motioned to the officer who had first stopped Skye’s car, “The officer will take care of your car.”

Skye hid a guilty look, “It’s not exactly mine.”

May rolled her eyes, “I don’t want to know.”

Skye smiled, “Do you mind holding Avery for a minute?”

Passing the infant to May without waiting for a response and focused on getting Andy out of the car. Having rarely been around adults other than his parents it wouldn’t be the best idea to have May look after the three year old. Andy hugged himself around his mother’s neck, burying his head in her shoulder. Turning back to May Skye smiled at how uncomfortable May actually looked holding a new born, “So,” The hacker sighed, “Where to?”


	13. Answers

Skye didn’t speak again until her and May were safely inside the surveillance truck and Avery was safely back in her mother’ arms. Andy was happy to sit on the floor with a stack of paper and a couple of crayons. The hacker sighed, “What do you want, May?”

“I want to help,” May replied, “But I’ll settle for some answers.”

“About?” Skye asked innocently, shifting Avery in her arms.

May just looked annoyed, “Everything. How you survived. Where you’ve been. Why you didn’t contact us. Who’s after you? All of it.”

Skye sighed but nodded, “Where do you want me to start?”

May seemed to think about it for a second before answering, “Let’s start on the same page. Start in London, your one night stand.”

Skye shifted in her seat again, trying to hide a guilty look, “What about it?”

May raised an eyebrow, “I’m not an idiot, Skye. Ward shows up claiming to have information about your death, only you’re not really dead and showing up in the same city within hours of Ward running.” She nodded towards Andy, still happily drawing on the floor, “With a son who looks a lot like a man we all thought was in jail at the time.”

Skye bit her lip but nodded, “Ward is both Andy and Avery’s father.” It felt strange calling her husband Ward again, at least on purpose, for the last three years he had been Grant, Ward only slipped out in fights but Skye didn’t think calling him Grant in front of May would help matters.

May seemed to let the words sink in before speaking, “So what happened that day we all went to the zoo, you obviously didn’t go and get drunk, or did you?”

Skye shook her head, “No drinking.” She paused before telling the story that might just change the way May felt about her survival, “I was attacked on my way back to base from the zoo, three men. I didn’t know it at the time but they were working for my father. Ward had been following me, working for Fury, he stopped the men but I wasn’t in any state to go back to base. So he patched me up.”

May looked doubtful, “So in gratitude you slept with him?”

“God, no,” Skye laughed, “I hated him, I yelled at him, I hit him and he just took it.” She didn’t mention that he couldn’t talk at the time, she didn’t want May to know just how much damage she had done.

“That doesn’t explain how you got pregnant,” May replied.

“A couple of days later my father found out Ward was the one who had kept his men from getting me. He almost beat Ward to death,” Skye answered carefully, wondering if May was going to ask her any questions about Sir but the Calvary remained silent and Skye continued, “Somehow, and to be completely honest I still have no idea how he did it, Ward managed to make it to me. I patched him up,” Skye sighed, “And then I slept with him.”

May was shocked, “Ward was inside our base. For how long?”

“Four days, almost five,” Skye admitted.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” May asked, “Why trust him?”

“I didn’t trust him, not at first, but he answered every question I asked. Admitted to everything he’s ever done and I believed him,” Skye replied, wondering if May thought she was a complete idiot, “As for the not telling you part, I am sorry but Ward begged me not to. He was working for Fury and needed to keep his distance, he wasn’t even meant to contact me. Besides even if I had told you he was there it wouldn’t have changed anything, Ward would have still had to follow us on Fury’s orders and you and Coulson would have just had one more thing to worry about.”

May decided not to comment on the matter, it was too late now any way, “When did you see him next?”

“Rome,” Skye admitted, “The day I collapsed I told him I was pregnant. I didn’t see him again until we set up base in Australia.”

“The camp by the river was his?” May asked.

“You found that?” Skye was surprised but then again they had probably searched the forest after the explosion looking for signs of her survival, they would have found none. May just nodded and Skye continued, “Yeah, it was his. I visited him there a couple of times when you and Coulson were off base. It’s where I ran when the Asgardians came but after that incident I was watched way too much to even think about visiting him again.”

“So the explosion, faking your death, was part of your plan to run away with Ward?” May asked.

Skye shook her head, “Running away was never the plan, and we were going to come clean, about everything. But after the Asgardians visit the base compromised, badly, and Ward was pushing back attacks almost daily. One managed to get past him and set a bomb.”

May raised an eyebrow, “So that begs the question of how you survived?”

“I was on the porch when the bomb went off,” Skye replied. Not a lie, she just didn’t mention that she had been waiting for Ward to visit her, “I don’t remember much, there was fire and pain. I woke up in hospital a week later. Ward had gotten me out and got me to safety. I had Andy,” She shifted slightly, moving Avery so that the hacker had one arm free, she pulled down the collar of her shirt so that May could see the scars that covered her neck and shoulders, she didn’t show the scars that ran down her arms, “And I didn’t escape unscathed.”

“So Ward suggested you run and you did, just like that?” May asked.

Skye shook her head, getting Avery back into a comfortable position to hold, “No, running was my idea. Every attack had been aimed at me, the explosion just told me how far they were willing to go to kill or capture me. I wasn’t going to put you all in danger. If you knew I was alive eventually someone would get it out of you or use you to get to me. As long as you thought me dead then you were safe.”

May raised her eyebrow again, “So what changed? Why come out of hiding now? Why contact us now? Or at least have Ward contact us?”

“A month ago my father found us,” Skye replied, wiping her hand against her jeans as she remembered the day Sir had found her, she hid a flinch as she remembered him driving the knife through her hand.

May saw the hacker’s movement and the flinch she tried to hide, worry appeared on the older woman’s face, “What did he do?”

Skye held her hand out for May to see, shifting Avery into one arm again, “He drove a knife through my hand because apparently I don’t respect my elders.”

May inspected Skye’s hand, she saw the faded scars that were no doubt from the explosion but there was one that ran right across her palm and seemed fresher than the others. May felt angry, no wonder Skye had run, what father would do that to his own daughter, “If I ever meet your father I’ll return the favour.”

Skye paused at that before replying softly, “I think you already have.” She eyed May, “He attacked Grant today when he went to meet Coulson.” Skye slipped easily back into calling her husband by his first name and not his last.

“He’s in the cage,” May replied.

“Good,” Skye snapped, “Let him rot there.”

Avery suddenly started crying, calming her Skye almost smiled, the little girl rarely stayed quiet for this long unless it was in her father’s arms. Skye took this as a sign that it was time to leave, she stood up, “We need to go, we need to keep moving.”

May stood as well, “Stay. Come back with me.”

Skye shook her head, “I told you before, SHIELD is compromised, and my father in the cage is proof of that. Besides you promised to let me leave if you wanted to.”

“I did,” May agreed, “But what if there was another way. A way to re-join us and stay safe.”

Skye sat down again, “I’m listening.”

May sat down again too, “Do you have a way to contact Ward?”

“I do,” Skye admitted, eyeing May suspiciously, “Why?”

“Because I assume he’ll go wherever you go,” May replied, obviously not entirely happy about that fact, “Which means he should have a say in this.”

Skye thought about it, if May really did have a way to keep her and her children safe she should take it and Ward would agree with anything that kept them all safe, so she nodded and pulled out her phone, “Give me five minutes.”


	14. Complications

Ward was hiding on a roof top trying to come up with a plan to get to Vegas when his phone rang. Panic flooded through the former specialist, the only reason he had kept the phone this long was because Skye had wanted a way to contact him and the she was the only one who had the number. Skye was smart enough not call just to talk, if she was calling something was wrong.

Ward picked up the phone almost instantly, unable to keep the panic from his voice he spoke before his wife could, “Are you okay? Are the kids? What happened?”

“Woah, slow down,” Skye laughed down the phone, “We’re fine.”

Ward sighed in relief, but the panic was still there, “Not that I’m not happy to hear your voice, because I am, but if you’re fine why are you calling? What happened?”

“I was stopped at the blockade,” Skye replied.

“And I assume you told whatever lies you could to get through,” Ward answered, he wouldn’t expect any less from Skye, she would try to convince the police she was a princess if it meant she could get the kids to safety.

“I did,” Skye admitted, then sighed, the sound echoing down the phone line, “But lying doesn’t help when someone recognises you, does it?”

“What?” Ward snapped, the panic that had slowly been fading returned in full force. They’d factored in Ward getting recognised by the locals, not Skye, “By who?”

There was some shuffling which Ward recognised as Skye passing the phone to someone, his blood ran cold when a surprisingly calm voice spoke, a voice a recognised and a voice that wasn’t Skye’s, “Hello, Ward. I believe there is something you forgot to tell Coulson today.”

“May,” Ward groaned, “I didn’t forget, SHIELD is compromised and is no longer a safe option.”

“So I hear,” May replied.

There was some more shuffling and the phone returned to Skye, “May had an idea. How to keep us safe and still re-join SHIELD or at least the team.”

“Of course she does,” Ward sighed, “Okay, let’s hear it.”

Skye paused before answering, “See, I don’t know it exactly. She wants to discuss it in person, with both of us.”

“Skye…” Ward warned.

“Don’t take that tone with me, Grant,” Skye snapped.

“You want me to hand myself into SHIELD, I’m allowed to be annoyed,” Ward replied.

“I never said hand yourself into SHIELD,” Skye assured, “Just meet me and May to hear her out. No SHIELD, no Coulson. I promise if we don’t like her idea then we’re gone, we disappear again, okay?”

“Okay,” Ward agreed, he knew Skye’s tone well, there would be no arguing with her on this so he best save the time and agree with her now rather than caving later, “But May has to promise not to shoot me.”

There was a pause while Skye conferred with May, “Fine, she agrees to no guns but can’t promise not to hit you.”

Ward groaned, this wasn’t going to end well, “Just make sure she doesn’t hit me in the throat again.”

Skye laughed, “Don’t worry, I’ll stop her before it gets that far.”

Ward smiled, “Promise?”

“I promise.”

* * *

It took Ward almost a whole hour to reach the city limits, just because he had agreed to a meeting with May it didn’t mean the local authorities had been called off the search for him. He couldn’t risk stealing a car and public transport was crawling with police officers and SHIELD agents. So keeping his head down the former specialist had to walk to his destination. May had eventually agreed to arrange for a brief lapse in security that Ward could use to slip past the blockade and into the area that housed the surveillance trucks, there was two and as he knocked Ward prayed he had the right one.


	15. Offers

Skye responded to the knock before May did, still holding Avery the hacker carefully opened the door and was greeted by the bruised and bloody face of her husband.

Taking a step back to let Ward in Skye sighed at his face, “What happened?”

“Your father’s a bastard,” Ward shrugged, then paused before adding, “And Coulson wasn’t exactly happy to see me.” Seeing the worry on his wife’s face Ward shook his head, “Don’t worry, I’ve had worse.”

Skye gave a weak smile, “It’s my job to worry about you, no one else will, not even you.” She passed him a cloth to clean his face, she smiled weakly again while he wiped away the blood, but there was nothing that could be done about the bruises.

There was a cough from behind Skye which interrupted her reunion with her husband.

May looked Ward up and down but didn’t say anything, she didn’t throw any punches either so that was a bonus. Instead the Calvary just sat back in her seat and waited for both Skye and Ward to join her.

Skye wasn’t entirely sure if Ward just wanted to see how far he could push May or if he just wanted to see his son because before joining Skye and May, the former specialist sat on the floor and said something to Andy. Skye wasn’t sure what Ward whispered to his son but the three year old looked at her and May for a second before nodding to his father and then returned to his drawings which were now spread out across the truck floor.

Ward stood up and joined Skye and May. When he sat down the first thing Skye did was pass Avery into her father’s arms, Skye told herself it was because the little girl was being fussy and tended to be a lot calmer in her father’s arms than in her mother’s but the truth was the hacker hoped that May wouldn’t try anything if Ward was the one holding the infant. Not to mention it gave Skye a much needed break. Ward didn’t complain, just taking Avery and settling into his seat.

There was silence for a minute or two while Ward and May just starred at each other, neither one willing to break the stalemate. So Skye did, “So…, this isn’t awkward at all.” For a second Skye swore she saw a flicker of a smile on both Ward and May’s faces before they quickly disappeared.

Ward responded next, “You seem to forget that last time we met I couldn’t speak for months afterward,” He turned to look at Skye for a second before returning his attention to May, “And if it wasn’t for that incident in London I still wouldn’t be able to.”

May raised an eyebrow, she probably had no idea how much damage her blow to Ward’s throat had actually done.

Skye cut in before Ward said anything that might get him punched or May said anything that would make Ward rethink the whole working together. She sighed, “This isn’t the time or the place to discuss this, Grant.” She placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder to calm him before looking at May, “You said you had an idea, let’s hear it then.”

May’s eyes flicked between Skye and Ward before she spoke, “You don’t trust SHIELD and after everything Skye’s told me I understand, so let me start by saying that I’m not asking you to trust SHIELD, just those we already know aren’t comprised; Coulson, Fitz and Simmons, perhaps the Avengers; Stark, Banner, Romanoff, Barton, Thor….”

Skye shook her head, interrupting May, “Thor is the Prince of Asgard, one of the worlds that is after me.”

“Asgard is on the verge of civil war,” May replied, “I’m sure Odin has far more pressing matters than finding you and Thor has shown dislike for his father’s politics of late, he might help hide you just to spite Odin.”

“We’re not risking everything on a maybe,” Ward replied before Skye could, he shifted slightly as Avery moved in his arms, “I’ve seen what people are willing to do to get Skye, I spent almost a year stopping them. If you can’t guarantee her protection then we’re better off on our own. It’s why we ran in the first place.”

“SHIELD or HYDRA, you were never one to run from a fight, Ward,” May replied.

“I’m happy to fight,” Ward snapped, “But only when it’s my life on the line, not theirs.”

Before May could respond Skye did, keeping the Calvary from saying something she might regret, “Time out.” Skye looked at both Ward and May, “Fighting gets us nowhere and wastes time we don’t have.” She faced her husband, “We came here for a reason, Grant. We needed Coulson’s help. SHIELD’s compromised, fine, but that doesn’t change the fact that we need help. We can’t run forever.” Without waiting for Ward to respond the hacker turned back to face May, “If we leave the Avengers out of it for now, just you, Coulson, Trip and FitzSimmons, what kind of plan do you have?”

May seemed to think about it for a second before answering, “Without the Avenger my plan is difficult but not impossible.” She looked at Skye before continuing, “Come back to New York with us. Stark Tower is secure and not even an official SHIELD base. If we keep you on the private floors no one will ever know you’re there.”

Skye didn’t look convinced, “I’m not planning to be locked in the tower for the rest of my life.”

“No,” May agreed, “But it’s a start. Somewhere for you and your children to be safe while we come up with a whole plan.”

“And Grant?” Skye asked, giving up all pretence of calling him Ward for May’s sake, “You mentioned me and the kids but not him.”

Ward sighed, “Skye…”

“Shut up,” Skye snapped, turning to her husband, “Either you come with is or we don’t go, understand? If we do this, and it’s still a big if, then we do it as a family.”

Ward glared at his wife but nodded, this was one of those times where there would be no arguing with her, although he did wonder if May would try to. The former specialist looked at the older woman sitting across from him, “So, where do I fit into this so called plan of yours?”

May remained silent for a second, no doubt wondering if she would argue about Ward’s involvement, she obviously decided against arguing because she looked at Ward as she spoke, “Did you escape or did Fury let you go?”

“Fury let me go,” Ward replied, wondering where this was going.

“Have you had any contact with HYDRA since your release?” May asked.

“Once,” Ward admitted, “When I turned them back from your base in Australia, which was almost three years ago.”

May seemed to think about her next question, “Do you have anyone who can vouch for your good behaviour?” Before Skye could speak May added, “Besides Skye, Fury or Romanoff?”

“Barton can,” Ward replied, “He’s the only other contact I had while working for Fury, but since I left Fury only Skye can vouch for me.”

May thought about Ward’s responses for a minute before responding, “Fine,” She then nodded, “I’ll try and help you all stay together but the final decision is up to Coulson.”

Skye nodded, that was the best offer they were going to get, better than she had expected from May.

However Ward shook his head, “We still haven’t agreed to this plan of yours, whatever it is.”

“I don’t have a whole plan, not yet,” May admitted, “But if someone really is after Skye then getting her to safety is the priority, we deal with the rest as it comes.”

Skye eyes May for a second, “No SHIELD?”

“Just Coulson, Simmons, Fitz and Romanoff,” May agreed.

Skye looked at Ward, “Is Romanoff okay?” Ward nodded and Skye looked back at May, “What about Trip?”

“He’s off the grid at the moment,” May shrugged, “If you want to we can bring him in when he resurfaces.”

Skye nodded, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” The hacker looked at Ward, who nodded in agreement, before continuing, “I assume you brought the Bus, so that answers the question of how we get to New York. So that begs the questions of what happens when we get there. We’re not involving the Avenger but you want hid me in a building owned by one of them.”

May almost smiled, almost, “Coulson had two floors to himself, one to live in and one to work in. I’m sure he’ll be happy to share while we come up with a whole plan.”

Skye looked at her husband, waiting for him to disagree, when he didn’t the hacker raised an eyebrow, “What? No comments from the peanut gallery?”

Ward sighed, “What do you want me to say, Skye? You’re right, we can’t run forever and part of a plan is better than no plan. Which is what we have,” He looked over at May, “Can you protect her?”

“Yes,” Was all May said, it was all she needed to say.

Ward nodded, “Then I don’t care what the plan is, what it will be. As long as you keep Skye and our kids safe.”

Skye glared at her husband, “Do I get a say in this?”

Ward looked slightly amused, “Do you disagree with me?”

“No. But…” Skye started.

“Then what’s the problem?” Ward asked, “I’m the one that’s going to be under constant surveillance and that’s if Coulson even lets me in the door.”

“He’ll let you stay,” Skye smiled, “He gets both of us or neither of us and something tells me he’ll want me to stay.” The hacker returned her attention back to May, “Let’s do this.”

May nodded and pulled out her phone, pressing one on her speed dial. Coulson picked up instantly and May spoke first, “Call of the search, I’ve got Ward.” She glanced at Skye who nodded her consent, “And I found out what he wanted to tell you.”


	16. Worry

Coulson hung up the phone and sighed. May was keeping something from him, the last tine she’d done that had been when she’d been working for Fury. The Calvary at least admitted the ruse now, that whatever Ward had told her couldn’t be shared over the phone. Whatever Ward, and now May, knew it was big, big enough that it couldn’t be shared over the phone, big enough that Ward had run rather than tell Coulson when the meeting had been compromised and big enough that May hadn’t shot and, or, beaten Ward. That alone had Coulson worried.

The requests that May had made just added to Coulson’s worry. Clearing the Bu of all SHIELD and civilian personal except for himself, Romanoff, Fitz and Simmons was easy enough but finding somewhere to house the man who had attacked Ward was another story. Coulson had tried to argue that point with May but the woman had been insistent, neither her nor Ward would say a word as long as that man was on or anywhere near the Bus. Eventually Coulson had given in, as long as May gave him an hour to clear everyone out and arrange transport for the prisoner to somewhere far, far away. All this had Coulson wonder just who, or what, this man was.

Coulson had been discussing the subject if the prisoner with Agent Romanoff when May had called and the Black Widow had remained standing in his office during the entire conversation, thankfully remaining silent.

Now, however, the assassin chose to speak, “May found him?”

“Apparently,” Coulson replied.

Natasha raised an eyebrow, “And he told her what he wouldn’t tell you?” The Black Widow didn’t seem entirely convinced of that.

“So she says,” Although Coulson had to wonder how exactly May managed to get the information out of Ward.

Judging from her response Natasha obviously wondered about that too, she eyed Coulson, “Is he in one piece?”

Coulson shrugged, “I guess we’ll find out in an hour.”

Natasha looked doubtful, “It’s going to take May an hour to get back?”

Coulson shook his head, “That’s how long May gave me to secure the Bus and get the prisoner far from here o she lets Ward go.”

“Must be pretty big news if Ward got May to convince you to do all that,” Natasha replied, wondering what the news could actually be.

“Which concerns me deeply,” Coulson answered, also wondering what could be so big that May would agree with Ward about the security of SHIELD.

“You know what this means, right?” Natasha asked.

Coulson was confused, “What?”

Natasha gave the Director of SHIELD a weak smile, “It means you’ve got to tell your scientists that your meeting was with Ward. Preferably before May brings him on the plane.”

Coulson just groaned. 

* * *

Fitz had been locked in his old bunk since the Bus had landed, almost eight hours ago, he stepped out briefly when Coulson had returned from his meeting but had returned soon after. It didn’t take the engineer’s genius level intellect to figure out that the meeting hadn’t gone well. Coulson had returned dragging a prisoner and the locked himself in his office with Agent Romanoff while May had disappeared in search of someone, the engineer was yet to learn who.

Being back on the Bus almost made Fitz forget the last three years had happened so when Coulson had returned and not said a word to him the engineer had gone off in search of a certain biochemist. That hadn’t ended well, with the look Simmons had given him almost breaking his heart all over again. There was a reason Fitz had locked himself in old bunk in the first place.

Unfortunately Fitz couldn’t hide from the past any longer, Coulson had called a meeting, one the engineer couldn’t avoid. He knew something was off the second he arrived. Firstly the meeting was being held in the lounge and not in the briefing room. Secondly May was nowhere in sight, she was usually the first to arrive and only Simmons, Coulson and Romanoff were waiting in the lounge. Finally Coulson looked like he had seen a ghost.

Sitting down Fitz looked at Coulson, “Where’s May?”

“May will be here in about half an hour,” Coulson replied, then added, “With Natasha’s contact.”

Simmons spoke next, before Fitz could, “I thought he didn’t trust us.”

“I doubt May’s giving a choice,” Natasha answered for Coulson.

“Hold up,” Fitz interrupted, “If May is with the contact, then who did you bring back with you?”

“Honestly,” Coulson replied, “I have no idea. He attacked the meeting and the contact ran before he could tell me what he knew about Skye’s death. I sent May to track him down.”

There was silence and Fitz waited for Coulson or Romanoff to continue when neither did the engineer eyed them suspiciously, “What aren’t you telling us?”

Natasha sighed, she looked at Coulson who nodded, obviously giving the assassin permission to tell the scientists what they had been holding back, “Who the contact is.”

“Why does it matter?” Simmons asked, “If he has the information why does it matter who he is?”

Coulson paused before answering, a guilty look passing over his face before he did, “It’s Ward.”

Fitz felt his blood run cold, he’s tired his nest not to think about the man who had pushed him and Simmons into the ocean, the man who had left him for dead.

“But…But…” Simmons stammered, “But he’s in jail.”

Natasha shook her head, “Fury let him out. He had skills that were too valuable to waste.”

“You knew?” Fitz snapped, pulling himself out of his thoughts, “You knew that’s who Coulson was going to meet?”

“I did,” The Black Widow admitted, she held up her hands to stop Fitz or Simmons from interrupting her, “But to be fair I never lied. He is ex-SHIELD, he did work for Fury and he was in London.”

“What about Russia?” Fitz asked, “Did he help get the cure or was that a lie?”

“That was true,” Natasha assured, “It’s why I trust him, the cure was stolen from a HYDRA base, there was a dozen times he could have turned on me but he never did. If it wasn’t for him you would still be in a coma.”

“If it wasn’t for Ward I would have never been in one,” Fitz almost yelled, jumping to his feet. The engineer spun to face the assassin, “Give me one reason, except for Russia, just one reason to trust him.”

“I’m not asking you to trust him,” Natasha shrugged, “Just hear him out. Not for him, not for me but for Skye, this may be our only chance to learn what happened that day.”

Fitz sighed and sat down again, “I’ll give him five minutes. For Skye.”

Coulson looked at Simmons, “What about you?”

“Five minutes,” The biochemist agreed, “But only for Skye’s sake.”

* * *

Half an hour late the Bus had been cleared of all but the Director of SHIELD, a Russian assassin, a biochemist and an engineer. The bleeding man had been transferred to the local SHIELD base where he awaited Coulson’s questions. Ward had mentioned that he too had answers on Skye’s death, answers the Director wanted.

Coulson stood with Romanoff, Simmons and Fitz just outside the lab as they awaited the arrival of May, awaited the arrival of Ward. Coulson wondered if the former specialist would be able to tell them everything he knew about Skye’s death in the five minutes the scientists had agreed to give him. When May had called to confirm the Bus was secure Coulson had warned her of the time limit but the Calvary had assured him that it wouldn’t be a problem.

Fitz and Simmons had remained silent since they had agreed to at least listen to what Ward had to say. In fact the news had seemed to draw the pair back together again, as they stood side by side and waited for May and Ward to arrive.

The black car pulled up and Coulson just nodded to May as she got out of the driver’s seat. The passenger front door opened and Ward got out, Coulson felt Fitz and Simmons shift behind him but the pair say anything. Coulson took a step forward but froze when the passenger back door opened a woman, a ghost, got out of the car.

Coulson’s blood run cold when the ghost gave a weak smile, “Hi.”


	17. Surprise

Skye honestly had no idea what else she could say to the team when she got out of May’s car. Coulson was frozen mid-step, Fitz actually looked like he was going to be sick, Simmons looked more hurt than surprised and even Natasha couldn’t hide her surprise at seeing the hacker back from the dead. They all looked like they had seen a ghost, the very same look May had given Skye only a couple of hours ago.

Surprisingly it was Simmons that was the first to react to Skye’s appearance, she ran to the hacker and pulled Skye into a hug, not seeming to care that she had to pass Ward to do it.

The hug lasted long enough to become awkward and Skye pattered the biochemist on the shoulder to get her attention, “Simmons, I need to breath.”

“Sorry,” Simmons mumbled a she pulled back, wiping away tears that had appeared during the reunion, “You’re alive, but… how… I mean… we saw… what happened?”

Skye remained silent but Simmons must have the guilty look the hacker shared with Ward because the biochemist turned to face the former specialist, even more surprise evident on her face, “You got her out?”

Ward just nodded once, not trusting himself to speak.

Suddenly Simmons did something that surprised everyone, including Skye and Ward, she pulled Ward into a hug, “Thank you.”

Ward just stood there awkwardly, waiting for Simmons to step back.

Suddenly Simmons jumped back, as if just realising who she was actually hugging. The biochemist was quite embarrassed by her actions, “Sorry.”

Skye wasn’t sure if Simmons was saying if for her own benefit, Ward’s or the team’s.

During this exchange the team seemed to have unfroze. Fitz and Coulson made their way over to the car, while Natasha kept back, only giving a nod of greeting to Ward before taking her leave. The Black Widow may have been Skye’s friend, someone who had mourned her supposed death, but he wasn’t family and her answers could wait.

Fitz was the next to greet the not so dead hacker, he too pulled Skye into a hug, “Why didn’t you tell us you were alive?”

Skye didn’t answer right away, instead stepping out of Fitz’s embrace and into Coulson’s. Coulson greeted her like a father should, Skye swore she saw tears in the director’s eyes, this was the father she always she always wanted, the one she had hacked SHIELD in hopes of finding. “I’ve missed you,” She whispered.

“I missed you too,” Coulson replied, stepping back, “We all did.” His eyes swept towards Ward but froze when he saw the two sleeping children in the back seat that Skye had just gotten out of. Neither Fitz nor Simmons had noticed them. Coulson raised an eyebrow at Ward, “Yours?”

Again Ward just nodded, still not trusting himself to speak.

Coulson looked surprised, “Both of them?”

“Yes,” Ward replied softly, speaking got the first time.

Understanding washed over Coulson, Skye had more than just known that Ward was following them all over the world, she talked to him, more than talked from the looks of it.

“Both of what?” Simmons asked, completely unaware of what was going on, of what Coulson had just realized.

Skye sighed and stepped back, allowing both Fitz and Simmons to see her sleeping children, she smiled weakly, “I guess you kind of know Andy,” She gestured to the three year old that had fallen asleep on the drive over. Skye then pointed to the infant that Ward had finally convinced to take a nap, “The other one is Avery.”

Simmons turned to face Ward, “There both yours?”

“Yes,” Ward replied softly, repeating the same simple answer he had given Coulson.

Simmons turned back to Skye, “But that means…you…I mean…were you…did you?”

“Yes,” Skye snapped, “I was sleeping with him while I still with you guys.”

“Oh,” Simmons replied, failing to actually form any words. The biochemist was clearly flustered by Skye’s revelation.

Fitz suddenly chose to speak, spinning to face May, “How long have you known?” There was anger in engineer’s voice, “Have you known Skye was alive this whole time? Did you know that she was with him?” He pointed angrily at Ward, “That they had kids together?” Fitz was on a role now, not giving May the chance to speak, “Did you know he was following us the whole time? Did you know Skye was lying to us? Did you lie to us?”

“Woah, slow down,” It was Skye that interrupted Fitz’s rant, “May didn’t know anything, no one did.”

“Why lie?” Fitz asked, visibly hurt by Skye’s actions, “Why run? We were family, Skye. Why run from us?”

“Because you were family, Fitz,” Skye cried, “I have entire worlds after me, they blew up a damn house to get to me, what would they have done to you to get to me? I ran to protect you, to protect myself and my children.”

Fitz went to speak, obviously confused by the fact that there were worlds after the hacker, but Coulson spoke first, “Time out.” The Director of SHIELD looked around at his team, his family, “It seems we have a lot to talk about. So maybe we could move this upstairs?”

Skye nodded.

“Your children?” Simmons asked.

May surprised everyone by speaking next, “I’ll watch them,” When Coulson raised an eyebrow the Calvary shrugged, “I’ve heard their story already, most of it at least, you can fill me in on the rest later.”

“You sure?” Skye asked, “When they wake up they’ll be a handful.”

May glared, “I think I can handle a couple of children.”

Skye shrugged, “If you say so.”

Only Skye noticed that her husband concealed a smile as they both headed upstairs with Coulson, Fitz and Simmons. And only Skye seemed to have noticed that Ward had only said two words since arriving back on the Bus.


	18. Alone

It felt strange being back on the Bus, especially being back in the lounge surrounded by those she had once called family. Yet Skye had never felt so alone. Even though her children were still on the same plane as her, Skye felt like they were a world away. Avery hadn’t been out of her mother’s sight since she was born and Andy had always been in sight of at least one of his parents for the past three years. Without her children Skye felt disconnected from the world around her and the only thing that could connect her was her husband. Unfortunately since arriving on the Bus Ward had remained relatively silent and kept his distance, all Skye wanted a touch, something to remind the hacker that she was doing the right thing, that everything would be okay but no matter what signals she sent him Ward kept his distance.

Skye felt different sitting on the lounge than she had during previous team meetings, the looks she received from Coulson, Fitz and Simmons were similar to the ones they had given her after the incident with Miles, only much, much worse. There was hurt and betrayal in their eyes but for now it was hidden beneath their happiness at seeing the hacker alive. Skye was so afraid that when they finally recovered from their shock at seeing her alive again that they would hate her and that Fitz’s outburst in the cargo hold would be the least of her worries.

Skye squirmed beneath the team’s gaze, she looked around the room, remembering the life she had once led on this plane, she sighed, “Is Natasha going to join us?”

Coulson looked around, as if just realizing the Russian assassin was no longer with the group but there was only one question he could ask, “Did she know?”

Skye had tuned out for a bit and looked at Coulson, slightly confused, “Did who know what?”

Coulson raised an eyebrow as he sat opposite the hacker, “Did Natasha know you were alive?”

Skye shook her head, “No one knew. That was the point.” Her eyes swept over to her husband, who stood against the wall instead of joining the team on the lounge, but Ward still wouldn’t meet her gaze, so she looked back at Coulson, “Running was what was best for everyone.”

“Did you run to be with him?” Fitz asked, nodding towards Ward, who only shifted but didn’t say anything, so Fitz continued, “Did you run because you were having a kid together and didn’t want to tell us?”

“I ran to protect my son, yes,” Skye admitted, she glanced at Ward again, who still wouldn’t meet her gaze, before continuing, “But it has nothing to do with Grant.” Coulson raised an eyebrow at the use of Ward’s first name but said nothing, “We ran because people were coming after me, after our son and they were willing to go through all of you to get to us. We lasted over three years on our own, we wouldn’t have lasted three days with you.”

Coulson lent forward, “Who’s after you, Skye?”

“Everyone,” Skye replied, “There are nine worlds, I have seven whole worlds after me, not to mention the different factions here on earth, HYDRA, AIM and a couple of governments I think, that are after me too.”

Simmons looked worried, “Why?” She looked between Skye and Ward, “Why are they after you?”

“For my blood,” Skye admitted, “At least that we’ve gathered from the run-ins we’ve had over the years. I’ve seen what my father’s blood can do, I assume mine does the same.”

“Your father?” Coulson asked, “You found him?”

Skye nodded, “And he found you.” She smiled weakly, “There’s a reason I asked May to empty the cage before I would come back to the plane.”

“The bleeding man?” Coulson asked, “The one who attacked the meeting? He’s your father?”

“He is,” Skye replied, “His name is Sigourney, likes to call himself Sir. He’s…” She paused wondering how best to phrase her response, “He’s not human.”

Fitz raised an eyebrow, “What is he?”

Skye shrugged, “I’ve spent the last three years trying to figure that out. I’ve heard him called many things, Vanir, Eir, both and neither.” She absently rubbed her palm, “All I know is that he’s a monster and he had someone inside SHIELD.”

Coulson looked over at Ward, “That’s why you ran? You were going to tell me the truth? That Skye was alive? But when her father attacked you knew SHIELD wasn’t safe?” Ward just nodded and Coulson raised an eyebrow, “Then why trust May?”

Ward didn’t answer, so Skye did, “She didn’t give us much of choice. Grant told me to run and I did, I didn’t know May was watching the roads,” She smiled weakly at Coulson, “She convinced me to come to you for help. Not SHIELD, just you.”

“And us,” Simmons added weakly, gesturing to her Fitz.

Skye smiled a proper smile this time, “And you.”

Coulson lent forward again, “I think you need to tell us everything, Skye.”

Skye nodded, “Where do you want me to start?”

Coulson sat back, crossing his arms, “Where did you start with May?”

“London.”

Coulson looked slightly surprised, “What happened in London?”

Skye nodded to her husband, “He found me.”

“Okay,” Coulson nodded, “Let’s start there.”

* * *

Sitting in the lounge Skye admitted to everything. To London, to Rome, even to the trips to the river in Australia. Everything he had kept secret for so long came out. Skye told her team, her family, about how Sif had found her with Ward, about the note that had advised her to run and how she ran as far as she could, for as long as she could. Skye wasn’t sure if it was surprise or just disappointment on Coulson’s face when she told them everything that had happened to her since she ran, having Andy, finding a house, marrying Ward, Sir finding them and then having Avery. She had lead of life while the team had broken. She had had a family while the team had lost theirs. And throughout it all Ward remained silent, keeping his distance and he didn’t once give his wife the comfort she craved, the reassurance she needed. Skye had felt the distance growing between them since he had first joined her and May but it took the hacker telling almost her entire story to Coulson to realize why. This was her family, but it wasn’t his and if she felt alone, disconnected, what must he feel. 

* * *

The sun had long since set when Skye finished her story, going into greater detail than she had spoken to May. When she finished Skye smiled weakly at Coulson, “So… Yeah. That’s my story.”

Coulson nodded, taking all of Skye words, her entire story, in, “So May has a plan?”

“Get me to New York,” Skye shrugged, “And figure the rest out from there.” Skye suddenly yawned.

Simmons raised an eyebrow, “When was the last time you slept?”

Skye shrugged, “Last night.”

Simmons did not look amused, “I mean really slept.”

Skye smiled weakly, “I have two kids under four, and one of them is a newborn. So the last time I got a full night’s sleep was before Andy was born.” She didn’t mention the nightmares that had kept her up.

“Well, you’ve got help now,” Simmons replied, standing up she stood over Skye, “You’re bunk is open, go get some sleep.”

Skye shook her head, “Andy doesn’t do well with strangers and Avery will need feeding when she wakes up.”

Fitz joined Simmons, “I’m sure we can handle one feeding, it shouldn’t be that hard to give a baby a bottle.”

Skye rolled her eyes, supressing another yawn, “She doesn’t use a bottle, Fitz.”

Fitz went to ask her a question but Simmons wacked him on the back of the head and the engineer went bright red when he realized what the hacker actually meant.

Coulson stood up too, hiding his own embarrassment at Fitz’s ignorance, he joined the rest of his team standing over Skye, “Simmons is right, you need sleep. We promise to wake you if your children need you.”

Skye yawned again, “Promise?”

“Promise,” Simmons assured, “Now go.”

Skye sighed but didn’t argue again, she did need sleep after all. She stood up and headed towards her old bunk, expecting her husband to follow. He did, only to be stopped by Coulson who whispered something in the former specialist’s ear. Ward nodded at Coulson then gave Skye a nod of reassurance before following the Director of SHIELD to his office. Ward hadn’t given her the option to argue. So she made her way to her bunk without him, passing Natasha on the way, the Russian had been watching silently the whole time.

In the bunk it felt like Skye had never left, her hula doll was still on the window ledge.

Skye settled into bed and waited for her husband to join her but for the first time in three years Skye went to sleep alone.


	19. Truth

Coulson sat down at his desk and Ward resisted the urge to squirm under the Director of SHIELD’s intense gaze. The former specialist had remained silent while Skye had told her story to the team, it was her story after all and they weren’t interested in his. However Ward got the impression that this was to be the time that he was meant to be talking, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Coulson obviously figured out that Ward wouldn’t be the first to speak because he looked the younger man over and sighed, “I wish I could trust you, Ward. After everything that Skye says you’ve done for us, for her, I really do wish that I could but after everything you did for Garrett, for HYDRA, I’m not sure that can or if I ever will be able to.”

Ward thought about it for a second, wondering if he should be hurt by Coulson’s words, that after everything he had done for Skye he had earned a little bit of trust, but he wasn’t hurt, he understood Coulson’s words. Ward just nodded, “I’m not asking you to trust me, I’m asking you to protect my family.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow, obviously he had been expecting an argument, “And if me keeping them safe means asking you to leave, then what?”

“Then I go,” Ward shrugged, “But I warn you now, if I leave she will follow.”

“Not if you tell her not to,” Coulson replied.

Ward actually smiled at that, “What makes you think I can tell her to do anything?”

“You told her to run and she did,” Coulson shrugged.

“I offered to bring her and Andy to New York, to you, after the explosion,” Ward replied, “She’s the one who wanted to run, I just ran with her.”

“I’m not talking about three years ago,” Coulson replied, leaning forward, “I’m talking about today, after our meeting, you ran and you told her to and she did. If it wasn’t for May we would still have no idea she was alive, that your children even existed.”

“And do you know what else I told her?” Ward replied, also leaning forward, “I told her to leave me behind and she wouldn’t do it.” Ward shrugged, “So go ahead, and ask me to leave. I will go and I will tell Skye not to follow me, I will even beg her not to. But you know what? She will follow me and then one of two things will happen; one, she finds me and we disappear again or two, she gets caught or worse, killed and it will be on your head.”

“Killed?” Coulson asked, sitting up straighter, surprise evident on the Director’s face, “She said they wanted to capture her, for her blood. Skye never mentioned anything about killing her.”

“She didn’t want you to worry,” Ward sighed, “But I need her to be safe, which means you need to know the whole truth.”

“Which is?” Coulson asked, leaning forward again.

Ward paused before answering, Skye would probably hate him for this but he needed her safe more than he needed her love, “The Asgardians and her father want her captured. They’re not working together, in fact I’ve got the feeling they want to use her against each other. The Asgardians want her as a means to control her father and I’ve got the feeling Sir just wants another soldier.” He eyed Coulson carefully before continuing, checking if the older man was keeping up, “The other worlds don’t want to use her, they just don’t want her in anyone else’s hands. The easiest way to stop anyone else from getting her is if there is nothing left for them to get. The explosion at the base wasn’t a warning or a way of separating her from the team. It was an attempt on her life, one that nearly succeeded.”

Coulson remained silent for a moment, no doubt taking Ward’s words in. The Director of SHIELD was still getting used to the fact that Skye was alive, now he had to worry about people trying to kill the hacker as well. Finally speaking Coulson looked Ward in the eyes, “Do you know why they’re after her?” Before Ward could answer he quickly added, “And don’t give me that her blood is special crap. Why is it special?”

Ward thought about lying or not answering but Coulson needed the truth, even if it was only speculation, “We know Sir’s blood heals, we assume Skye’s does too but we’ve never put it to the test.”

Coulson looked doubtful, “Skye was shot, she almost died.”

Ward shrugged, pushing down his own guilt over Skye’s shooting, “From what little info we have it seems their blood can heal others but not themselves.”

“You’ve seen her father heal?” Coulson asked, curiosity in his voice.

“Twice,” Ward admitted, “Four years ago, in London, he beat me then healed me, or at least sped up my healing.” Seeing Coulson’s gaze Ward continued, “He thought I would be one of his soldiers, he was wrong.”

Coulson nodded, obviously pleased with Ward’s choice, “And the other time?”

Again Ward paused before answering. Skye had admitted that they had come out of hiding because of Sir but had only told May what he had actually done to her but once again Coulson needed to know everything if he was going to protect Skye, “A month ago, when Sir found us, he wanted to teach Skye a lesson, for running from him. He pinned her hand to the kitchen bench with a knife and then healed it with a smear of blood.”

Coulson looked angry, “And you let him live?”

“Skye asked me not to kill him,” Ward shrugged, “Besides, I haven’t killed anyone since I worked for Garrett.”

Coulson looked doubtful, “Not even the men who set the bomb? You said you knew where they were.”

“I made them wish they were dead,” Ward admitted, “But, no. I didn’t kill them.”

Coulson actually looked impressed, he nodded, “Maybe there’s hope for you yet.”

Ward raised an eyebrow, “So are you going to ask me to leave? Send me back to jail?”

“No,” Coulson shook his head, “Fury let you out which means we have no grounds to send you back and I believe you when you say that if you leave then she will follow. So you can stay, but there will be conditions.”

Ward nodded, “Like?” He had expected to be asked to leave, or even arrested, so he could live with a few conditions.

“I don’t know yet,” Coulson admitted, “How about I let you know in the morning?”

Ward nodded, “Keep Skye and our children safe and I’ll agree to any conditions you give me.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow but nodded, “Okay.” He looked Ward over again, “Romanoff had your old bunk at the moment but I’m sure you can find somewhere to sleep. The cargo bay, perhaps.”

Ward read between the lines, he wasn’t going to be sharing Skye’s bunk, not as long as Coulson was around. He stood up and nodded, “I’m sure I’ll figure something out.” He turned to leave, having taken Coulson’s words as a dismissal.

“Ward,” Coulson called as the younger man got to the door and turned back to face the Director at the sound of his name, “Did she think about us at all?”

“My son’s middle name is Phillip and my daughter’s is Melinda, you tell me.”

Ward left the office and grinned to himself. He left a slightly shocked Coulson still sitting at his desk.


	20. Eerie

May had set the Bus on a course for New York after being relieved of Skye’s children by Simmons. May was particularly proud of the fact that she had had to go wake Skye for help only once. When the infant, Avery, had woken up, needing a feed, she had woken her older brother, who didn’t respond well to being in a strange place with a woman he’d only seen his mother talk with briefly. While he would never admit it out loud, May had been grateful that Ward had been close by, trying to get some much needed sleep, and could calm his panicking son while May herself went to get Skye’s help with her daughter. Skye had gone back to bed soon after but Ward had hung around, silently watching his children. He had still been watching when Simmons had relieved May. The Calvary did have to wonder that while everyone had been worried about how much sleep Skye had been getting had they taken a moment to think about how much Ward had gotten.

May wasn’t surprised to find Ward watching over his children when she got up after dawn. Simmons had gone, no doubt to get some sleep, leaving Ward alone in the cargo bay with his children. Part of May wondered if Ward should be left alone with children, even his own but Skye trusted him, hell she’d even married him, and Coulson hadn’t asked him to leave so the Calvary wouldn’t complain. He’d been a part of Skye’s life for three years, almost four, she obviously knew him a lot better than anyone else did and despite everything May trusted the hacker’s judgement.

The three year old was still asleep when May looked in on Ward but Avery was awake and her father was walking her around the cargo bay, trying to prevent the infant from waking the rest of the Bus. May left him to it, he actually looked like he knew what he was doing.

The Calvary wasn’t surprised to find Coulson in his office, the Director of SHIELD hadn’t gone to bed. He looked up when let herself into the office, he raised an eyebrow, “You took off without asking?”

May sat down, “If we had stayed you would have gone to see Skye’s father.”

Coulson shifted under the Calvary’s glare, “So?”

“We both know what you would have done to him,” May replied.

Coulson shrugged, “And we both know that you would have helped.”

“Yes,” May admitted, “And that’s why we left.”

“So what do we do with him?” Coulson asked, “Apparently he has reach inside SHIELD.”

May sighed, “I’ve organized to have him sent to the Raft, where he will be watched, if anyone tries to break him out or he tries to pass messages to anyone we’ll know.”

“The Raft?” Coulson asked, “Without telling me?”

May shrugged, “I thought you would agree. Besides, as long as he’s far away from Skye then I’m happy.”

“So am I,” Coulson agreed.

* * *

Skye stood in the cargo bay annoyed at the distance that separated her from her husband, she held Avery in her arms while Ward secured Andy in the car. FitzSimmons had disappeared immediately after touching down in New York, Skye could sense the scientist discomfort at being so close to Ward. They had promised to check in once Skye had settled into the tower but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that they just didn’t want to be around the hacker’s husband. They had only been back together for less than a day and Skye already missed them, being back together had only reminded the hacker of what she had missed over the last three years, of the family her son had missed out on getting to know.

After settling Avery into the car Skye joined her children in the back seat while Ward joined Coulson in the front. Romanoff had gone on ahead to make sure the route was clear and the tower was secure. May was remaining behind to make sure they weren’t followed. Skye, however, wasn’t worried, the only person outside the team who might have an idea she was in New York was her father and Coulson had assured her that he was on his way to SHIELD’s new prison, the raft, where he would no longer be a threat to Skye or her children. At least Skye hoped he wouldn’t be.

The drive through New York was eerily quiet, Ward said nothing and Coulson kept his thoughts on the road ahead, taking a long and complicated route to Stark Tower. Coulson must have known a secret way into the tower because they didn’t pull up to the front doors, sneaking in the back instead. Skye wasn’t entirely sure if it was a tradesman’s entrance or a SHIELD entrance, either way her, her children and her husband managed to make it into Stark Tower completely unnoticed.

The elevator ride up to Coulson’s floor was as eerily quiet as the car ride. Coulson finally spoke, smiling weakly, when the elevator door’s opened, “Welcome to your new home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little side note, in the comics there is an actual SHIELD prison located in New York called The Raft.


	21. Understanding

Skye had only been living in Stark Tower for a week and she was already beginning to go stir crazy. The hacker missed the fresh air and freedom she had had on her and Ward’s small farm, but that already seemed like a lifetime ago. Skye felt suffocated being confined to one floor of the enormous Stark Tower, one that only had a single small balcony as an escape. Not to mention that her husband was fidgety in the confined space, one of the conditions of being allowed to stay was wearing a monitoring bracelet, like Skye once did, which pretty much guaranteed that the former specialist couldn’t leave Coulson’s floor and limiting the family’s escape options. Something that that frustrated the hacker’s husband to no end.

As each day past Skye became more and more frustrated not only with being stuck inside but with the distance Ward had been keeping. Skye was pretty sure she could have handled the confinement, if only her husband was with her. It wasn’t that Ward wasn’t physically there, he was, it was that mentally he was a million miles away, preparing himself for the day Coulson asked him to leave. The couple had a daily routine, Ward helped with the children, who didn’t notice anything different about their father, and he slept in the same bed as Skye, a small concession from Coulson, but something was off and Skye knew it. Gone were the lingering touches and glances the pair had once shared. Gone was the intimacy in their relationship, Ward even avoided kissing his wife. Skye was beginning to consider it a good day is her husband planted a kiss in her hair when he passed her the breakfast he had made or given her a quick kiss on the cheek before bed. Skye was beginning to get irritated.

The team’s treatment of Ward didn’t help matters. He and Coulson only exchanged a few words, despite living on the same floor of the tower and in the meals Coulson did share with the small family the conversation was only ever between the hacker and the Director of SHIELD, the former specialist remained silent. May was surprisingly civil to Ward, which only meant she didn’t beat him or ignore him the way Fitz and Simmons did whenever they visited. The only one who went out of their way to be nice to Ward was Romanoff but Ward was still distant with her as well. The air in the tower was ice cold and Skye had had enough.

* * *

It was almost eleven at night when Coulson finally came back down to his living floor, having spent the entire day on the floor he had aptly named his work floor. He was surprised to find May, Fitz and Simmons waiting in the lounge when he stepped off the elevator.

Simmons yawned, “What was so important that it couldn’t wait until morning?”

Coulson was confused, “What do you mean?”

May raised an eyebrow, “You called a meeting.”

Coulson’s confusion grew and he shook his head, “No I didn’t.”

“Yes you did,” Simmons replied, pulling out her phone, “We all got a text from you.”

“Not from me,” Coulson assured.

“From me,” Skye interrupted, walking into the lounge. The hacker gave Coulson a guilty smile, “Sorry. I may have hacked your phone so I could talk to everyone at the same time.”

“We all would have come if the message was from you,” Simmons answered for the entire team, “You didn’t need to hack Coulson’s phone to get us here.”

Skye shrugged, “I was bored and I can only mess with JARVIS so much before he reports my presence to Stark.”

Coulson looked annoyed, “You hacked my phone and get the entire team here at eleven at night because you were bored?”

Skye shook her head, joining the team on the lounge, “I hacked your phone because I was bored. I got you all here because we need to talk about the elephant in the room or in this case the ex-HYDRA agent in the tower.”

Fitz groaned, “You brought us here to talk about Ward?”

Skye stood up and stood in front of the team, “I did.” Before Fitz could complain she spoke again, “And you’re going to sit and listen.”

Fitz must have heard the anger and determination in the hacker’s voice because he didn’t argue again. Simmons, however, did, “Look, Skye,” The biochemist sighed, “We get that you’ve spent three years with him, not to mention the months you spent hiding your relationship when you were still with us, and that you have two kids together. So you obviously know something about him that we don’t but after everything he did to us,” She gestured to the engineer sitting next to her, “Especially after what he did to Fitz and I, we just can’t understand.”

“Which is why I called this meeting,” Skye snapped, for the first time Coulson noticed that the hacker gripped a notebook in her hand, which she now dropped in Simmons’ lap, “When Grant first found me I didn’t understand either, hell even after I understood part of me still hated him. The first time we had sex it was more out of hate and lust than anything else.”

Coulson shifted uncomfortably at the shift in topic, “Skye…”

Skye spun to face Coulson, “And that’s another reason I called this meeting. Grant and I are married, we have two kids together, stop giving him the idea that if he even looks at me you’ll shoot him.” Coulson looked away guiltily as Skye continued, “Yeah, I noticed that. We’re married, we’re going to touch, we’re going to kiss and god forbid we might even have sex. Get used to it.”

There was an awkward silence when Skye finished. Her words needed to be said but that didn’t mean the team wanted to hear them, they all shifted uncomfortably under Skye’s glare.

After a while Simmons sighed, breaking the silence, she picked up the notebook Skye had dropped in her lap, “What’s this?”

“Understanding,” Skye replied, finally sitting back on the lounge with the team, “Look, when Grant and I found each other he couldn’t talk.” She glanced at May, “An unfortunate side effect of a blow to the throat.” Skye gestured to the notebook, “That was his way of communicating with those who couldn’t sign, like Romanoff and like me.”

Simmons opened the book and looked up at Skye, “It’s addressed to you.”

Skye nodded, “The first letter is, a couple of others too but there are some addressed to each of you as well. There is also a couple of conversations he had with Natasha in there as well, well half conversations, only his side but you get the idea.” She stood up again and looked around at the team, “He doesn’t know I’m giving it to you but I think you all need to read it. I would prefer you didn’t read the letters addressed to me, I’ve never read the ones addressed to each of you but I won’t complain if you do, they’re just a bit personal. After you’re done I suggest you try talking to him, you might learn something.”

The hacker left the lounge without another word, leaving the team alone with a potential game changer.

Coulson sighed and looked around at his team, “So… Who wants to go first?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the notebook returns!! If you want to get a glimpse of the letters that Ward wrote to the team, or the half conversations he had with Natasha, then re-read chapter 19 of BROKEN DREAMS AND SILENT SCREAMS.


	22. Forgiveness

Ward was in the kitchen making lunch when Fitz found him the day after Skye had confronted the team. The engineer had thought about delaying the inevitable talk with Ward but after Skye’s talk, after the notebook Fitz had realised that if it came down to it Skye would choose her husband over the team and, as a team, they had agreed that they wanted Skye to stay, which meant they all had to deal with their issues with Ward. Sooner rather than later and preferably before Skye decided her family would be far happier away from all the team’s issues. So here Fitz was, whether he liked it or not.

Ward ignored the engineer when he sat down at the kitchen bench and continued to make his and Skye’s lunch while their children were otherwise occupied.

Fitz had been in this situation often enough over the past week to know that Ward wouldn’t start a conversation, the former specialist would make his lunch and then leave the engineer alone in the kitchen. So Fitz spoke before he could, “I guess I never did thank you for freezing your ass off in Russia to get my cure.” He chose the words from Ward’s letter carefully so the man knew exactly where the engineer had gotten his information, “So, thanks.”

Ward had paused half way through cutting slices of cheese, he groaned, “She gave you the notebook, didn’t she?” He hadn’t turned to face Fitz.

“She did,” Fitz admitted, not needing to even think about who she might be.

Ward put the knife down and turned to face Fitz, crossing his arms, “How much did you read?”

“Enough,” Fitz shrugged.

Ward glared at the engineer, “What do you want, Fitz?”

Fitz sighed, he wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted, he just knew that this conversation had to happen, “To understand, I guess.”

“Understand what?” Ward replied, he didn’t sound particularly thrilled at the idea of having this conversation.

“Why?” Fitz replied.

“Why what?” Ward asked, “Why get you the cure? Because you needed it and I was in the best position to get it for you. Not to mention it was my fault you needed it.”

“Which begs the question of why I needed it in the first place?” Fitz glared at Ward, “Why did you do it, Ward?”

Ward sighed, “Would you believe me if I said I did it to save your life?”

“Because that worked out so well,” Fitz snapped.

“It was meant to float,” Ward snapped back, “If I had pulled you out of there I would have to have shot you in front of Garrett. At least in the container you had a chance.”

Fitz remained silent, having been shocked into it by Ward’s words. Ward went back to making lunch, no doubt believing the conversation was over.

However a few moments later Fitz sighed, “I guess we have a lot to talk about then.”

* * *

Skye was in the bathroom, wrapped only in a towel when Ward joined her. She smiled weakly at his reflection in the mirror, “Are the kids in bed?”

Ward stepped up behind her, “They are.” He planted a kiss against his wife’s neck, “I’m sorry,” He murmured as he trailed kisses along Skye’s neck.

Skye was surprised by the sudden intimacy but didn’t complain, this was what she had craved since reuniting with the team. She leant back to give her husband better access, “About what?”

“Being distant,” Ward replied, continuing to plant kisses along Skye’s neck and bare shoulders, “I’m an idiot,” He wrapped his arms around Skye.

Skye smiled, reaching back to run her fingers through her husband’s hair, “But you’re my idiot.”

Skye felt Ward smile against her neck, “I heard you talked with the team last night. Thank you for standing up for me.”

Skye groaned, not entirely sure if it was because she was caught or because her husband had reached a particularly sensitive spot, “A couple of kisses doesn’t mean you’re forgiven.” She turned in Ward’s arms so she was facing her husband, “I’ve really needed you the last couple of days.”

“I know,” Ward murmured, resting his head against Skye’s, “And I am sorry.”

Skye smiled, “Prove it.”

Ward captured Skye’s lips with his own and smiled as his wife deepened the kiss and pulled him towards the bedroom, letting her towel drop away as she went.

* * *

Skye groaned when Avery’s cries woke her and went to get up, only to have Ward get out of bed that little bit faster.

“I’ve got her,” Ward assured, “Go back to sleep.” He saw the smile Skye gave him, “What are you smiling at?”

“Nothing,” Skye grinned, taking in the sight of her husband, who was only dressed in a pair of pyjama pants, “Just enjoying the view.”

* * *

When Simmons let herself onto Coulson’s floor it was just after two in the morning. She had spent the last sixteen hours straight on one of the R&D floors and was taking up Coulson’s unlimited time offer to crash on his floor if she couldn’t be bothered to make the trip home. Everyone on the team had received the same offer three years ago but her and Trip were the only ones that ever took up the offer.

The biochemist had expected the floor to be dark, everyone having long since gone to bed. So she was surprised to see a light coming from the kitchen. Deciding it was probably Skye dealing with Avery Simmons headed towards the light but Avery wasn’t in the kitchen with her mother, she was in there with her father.

Simmons thought about leaving, she hadn’t spent any real time with the former specialist since he had returned with Skye a little over a week ago. They had had the awkward reunion when the biochemist had realized Ward had saved Skye but hadn’t actually spoken to each other. Even on the first night when Simmons had taken over for May in watching Skye’s children, when Ward had stayed to watch they hadn’t shared a word. However Skye had suggested that every member of the team should talk to Ward and apparently Fitz already had, having informed Simmons of that fact when he’d stopped by to make sure she had had dinner.

Ward knew she was standing there, even with his back to her and pacing the kitchen with Avery in arms, Simmons could tell by the way Ward’s body tensed as he waited for her to move on. Only Simmons didn’t. This talk needed to happen if the biochemist wanted Skye to stay.

Simmons cleared her throat and Ward froze mid-step.

Ward actually surprised the biochemist by speaking first, he turned to face Simmons, “And I suppose you read the stupid notebook too.” Simmons just nodded and Ward sighed, “I should have burned that thing years ago.”

“Why?” Simmons asked, taking a seat at the kitchen bench, “It shed some light on a lot of things.”

Ward raised an eyebrow as he resumed his pacing in an attempt to get Avery to sleep, “Did you read the letters to Skye or just the ones to you?”

“We read the ones to us,” Simmons replied, “Plus the half conversations throughout the book. Skye asked us not to read the ones to her and we didn’t.”

“Maybe you should have,” Ward mumbled.

Simmons was shocked, “Why? She said they were personal.”

“Not for her,” Ward admitted, “I told Skye things in those letters that I’ve never told anyone else.” He sighed, “Things maybe you all should know.”

Simmons shrugged, “We’re here if you want to talk.”

“Why?” Ward asked.

Again Simmons was surprised and slightly confused, “Why what?”

“First Fitz, now you,” Ward replied, “Why do you suddenly care about me? Is it for Skye’s sake?”

“Partly,” Simmons admitted, “But if you told Fitz the truth and you pushed us into the ocean to save us, or at least try to save us, then you deserve to be heard.” She paused briefly, eyeing the former specialist carefully, “Did you tell Fitz the truth?”

Ward shrugged, “I just knew that I couldn’t pull the trigger and if I had taken you to Garrett then I wouldn’t have had a choice.”

“You always have a choice,” Simmons replied softly.

Ward shook his head, “Not with him.”

“Well with us you do,” Simmons replied, standing up from the bench, “I’m going to crash on the couch but if you ever need to talk, I’m here. We all are.”

As she walked away the biochemist heard the former specialist respond quietly, “You need to stop blaming yourself and Fitz. If you had been there you might be dead and I might not have had the chance to save Skye.”

Simmons didn’t reply, leaving Ward alone in the kitchen with his daughter, but the ex-HYDRA agent had given the biochemist a lot to think about.

* * *

After getting Avery back to sleep, finally, Ward returned to his room and his sleeping wife. For the first time since arriving at Stark Tower Ward felt happy and felt like this place could actually become home. It wasn’t yet but it could be.


	23. Everything

Ward felt awkward sitting across from Coulson, the office was different to the one the Director of SHIELD kept on the Bus, it was still filled with antiques but it was bigger, more open and with a view of the New York skyline out the window. Coulson had asked for this meeting and Ward hadn’t complained, not wanting to give the director any excuse to ask him to leave. Despite the talks with both Fitz and Simmons and the new attitude from May it was still a thought that nagged at the former specialist constantly, that he would be forced to leave and put Skye and their children in danger.

It felt odd being off the living quarter’s floor, even though it was still in the same tower Ward felt like it was a world away.

Coulson sat opposite the younger man, eyeing him carefully, “You’re wondering why I asked you here?”

“A little bit,” Ward admitted, “Are you going to ask me to leave?”

Coulson shook his head, “Strangely enough, no. I’m asking for your help.”

Ward sat up straighter, clearly confused, “With what?”

“With HYDRA,” Coulson admitted.

Ward clenched his teeth, “I have no ties to HYDRA. Not anymore.” His last tie had been Garrett and that was a lifetime ago.

“I’m not saying that you do,” Coulson assured, “And I was wondering if you wanted to help bring them down?”

Ward was shocked and still slightly confused, “You want my help to bring down HYDRA? You barely trust me to be alone with my own wife.”

Coulson shifted slightly, since Skye had had her outburst he had tried to keep his distance but it was still difficult. Even after reading the letter Ward had written him three years ago. The Director of SHIELD sighed, “I trust that you want to do what’s best for your family, for Skye. HYDRA is one of the groups after her, bringing them down helps protect your family.”

Ward sighed and nodded, “What do you want me to do?”

“Your job, Agent Ward,” Coulson replied.

Again Ward was shocked, “You want me to re-join SHIELD?”

Coulson nodded, “You won’t have as much freedom as you did before but SHIELD isn’t as large as it once was, we need all the help we can get.”

Ward sighed again, “I’ll need to talk to Skye about it.”

Coulson smiled, “I figured as much.” He nodded, “Take your time, the offer’s open for as long as you want to take to think about it.”

Ward took that as a dismissal and quickly left Coulson’s office and then taking the elevator back to the floor he lived on, his monitoring bracelet being given a one trip signal. Ward was thankful for that, it would have been embarrassing if, after being dismissed by Coulson, he had to go back and ask for an escort to only go a single floor.

Ward smiled at the sighed that greeted him as he got off the elevator, Skye was sprawled out on the floor with Avery while Andy attempted to build a block tower. Ward was no engineer but even he knew that it wouldn’t stand up for much longer and then there would be tears.

Skye looked up when Ward stepped off the elevator and smiled when he joined her on the floor, “What did Coulson want?”

Ward sighed, still not entirely sure Coulson’s offer was genuine, “To offer me a job.”

Skye sat up, clearly surprised, “With SHIELD?”

Ward nodded, also sitting up, “Apparently they need people with my skills.”

Skye looked doubtful as she picked up Avery and moved to sit on the couch, “And he suddenly trusts you?”

Ward shrugged, joining his wife on the couch, “Apparently he trusts that I will do what is best for you.” He smiled weakly, “Which bringing down HYDRA is.”

Skye eyed her husband carefully, “What did you say?”

Ward lay back on the couch, “That I would talk to you about it.”

Skye nodded, “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” Ward admitted, he shifted closer to Skye and Avery, “If re-joining SHIELD is how I protect you then that’s what I need to do.”

“But…?” Skye asked, she knew her husband well enough to know one was coming.

“But,” Ward sighed, “I’m not sure I can go back to that life. Undercover could keep me away from you for months at a time and I’m not sure I can go back to killing people.”

“Then don’t,” Skye replied, resting her head on Ward’s shoulder, “If Coulson wants you bad enough he’ll take what he gets.”

Ward sighed again, “But without undercover, without killing, what am I? I’m not a specialist, that’s for sure.”

Skye smiled, “You’re Grant Ward, a loving father, a wonderful husband and a good man whose lead a hard life.” She looked up at Ward, “You’re whoever you want to be.”

Ward kissed the top of Skye’s head, “What did I do to deserve you?”

“I don’t know,” Skye admitted, “But you still have me and that’s all that matters.”

* * *

Skye was alone in the kitchen when Coulson finally returned from work. He smiled as he all but attacked the dinner Ward had left out for him. Sometimes the hacker had to wonder how Coulson had survived living in the tower before her and Ward had moved in. It seemed like the Director of SHIELD wouldn’t have eaten unless one of them left the meal out for him.

Coulson looked up when he felt Skye’s gaze on him, “What?”

“Nothing,” Skye replied, shaking her head, “Just thank you.”

Coulson looked confused, “For what?”

“Everything,” Skye shrugged, “For giving us a place to stay, for protecting us and most importantly for giving him a second chance.”

Coulson nodded in understanding, “He told you about the offer I made.”

“Yeah,” Skye replied, “Thank you. You have no idea how much he actually needs this.”

Coulson looked doubtful, “He didn’t seem overly enthusiastic when I talked to him.”

Skye sighed, “That’s because it’s not exactly what he wants but it is what he needs.”

Coulson looked confused, “Okay, you lost me.”

Skye smiled, “Grant needs the chance to undo some of the damage he did with HYDRA, he started four years ago but I got in the way. However much he wants to stay with me and the kids, he needs the chance to do something for himself.” She laughed at the look Coulson gave her, “Don’t worry, I’m not leaving him and he’s certainly not leaving me. He needs this chance, that’s all.” She then glared at Coulson, “But if you keep him away too long you’ll have me to deal with, understand?”

Coulson smiled, “I assume this is his way of accepting the job.”

Skye shook her head, “Oh, no. He’ll talk to you about that all on his own. He’ll even give you a few conditions.”

Coulson looked amused at the idea of Ward giving him conditions, “Oh? Like what?”

Skye shrugged, “Honestly, I don’t know all of them but the general idea is he’s not an assassin, no extended missions and his family comes first.”

“I can live with that,” Coulson nodded, “What about you?”

Skye was confused, “What about me?”

Coulson sighed, “You keep going on about what Ward needs but you don’t mention what you need, how you’ll handle him re-joining SHIELD.”

“I need my husband,” Skye admitted, “But I can handle a few lonely nights if I know that the person out there protecting me and my kid is someone I trust.” She smiled at Coulson, “I’m a big girl, and I can take care of myself.”

Coulson smiled, “I would offer you a job with SHIELD but…”

“But,” Skye interrupted, “I have two you children and you can’t trust SHIELD with the knowledge of my survival.”

“Pretty much,” Coulson admitted with a weak smile, “But I have another option if you’re willing to listen.”

“I have two kids, Coulson, I don’t have time…” Skye started.

Coulson put a hand to stop Skye, “You’ve got two kids and a husband that might be about to start a very busy job but you also have an extended family willing to help.” He smiled at Skye, “You need an escape just as much as Ward does, maybe more, and we’re all willing to help.”

“Fine,” Skye sighed, he wouldn’t mind a break every so often, “What’s this other option you’re offering?”

Coulson nodded at Skye’s acceptance, “I have a meeting with Stark in the morning, come with me.” Seeing the surprised look on the hacker’s face he continued, “It will be just you, me and him and I trust Stark to keep your survival a secret.”

Skye looked doubtful, “Even from the other Avengers?”

“Even from them,” Coulson replied.

There was a silence as Skye thought about it.

“So why am I meeting with Stark?” Skye finally sighed.

“Because you’re a computer genius,” Coulson smiled, “And Stark Industries can always more of them. You can work from the tower, where you’re safe, and still get some time for you.”

Skye nodded, “I’ll think about it.” She paused before adding, “And again, thank you.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow, “What for?”

“Everything.”


	24. Change

It felt strange being away from the floor she had come to call home, away from her children, and Skye wasn’t entirely sure that she liked it. Although she had to admit that the view from Tony Stark’s penthouse was stunning, almost three hundred and sixty degrees of New York.

Coulson and Skye had arrived on the top floor of Stark Tower a little after nine in the morning, although it was the time the meeting was set for, according to JARVIS, Stark was still in bed. Apparently, according to Coulson, this was a normal occurrence for the billionaire. The only thing they could do was wait, something Skye wasn’t entirely happy about. She had two children to think about after all.

It didn’t take long, not with Skye’s computer skills, to convince JARVIS to wake Tony Stark up. Skye was thankful that none of the other Avengers were currently occupying the tower, with Natasha’s help Coulson had seen to that, just in case they weren’t all a trustworthy as the Director of SHIELD hoped they would be.

Stark came stumbling out of his room, obviously annoyed at being woken, and did a double take. He had been expecting only Coulson to be waiting for him, the young hacker was no doubt a surprise, but a pleasant one at that.

Tony smiled his billion dollar smile, “And who is this lovely creature, Coulson?”

Skye crossed her arms, “This lovely creature is happily married, thank you very much.”

Skye smiled, “This is Skye,”

Stark looked confused, “The dead girl?”

Coulson shrugged, “Apparently not so dead.”

Stark sighed and threw himself on the couch, “Looks like we have a lot to talk about then.” 

* * *

Antoine Tripplett rode the elevator up Stark Tower in silence, not that he had anyone to talk to anyway. The specialist had spent the last several months, almost a whole year, undercover inside a HYDRA cell helping Captain America track down his old friend, the still missing Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes. The task was yet to yield anything so Trip had finally been pulled out. He didn’t exactly have a home to go to, he was undercover too much to keep one of his own, so when he was New York he crashed in one of Coulson’s spare rooms. The Director of SHIELD didn’t know the specialist was coming, he never did, but Trip had a standing invite so he hoped Coulson wouldn’t mind him just turning up after being away for so long.

Trip stepped off the elevator when it finally arrived on Coulson’s floor and froze at the sight that greeted him. Both Fitz and Simmons were seated on the couch, Simmons held an infant in her arms while both of them watched a young boy playing with blocks on the floor.

Obviously surprised at the sight before him Trip realised that neither of the scientists had noticed his arrival. He cleared his throat, “I know I’ve been gone a while but I didn’t think it was that long. Something you two want to share with me?”

Everyone in the room looked up as Trip spoke. Simmons remained seated but Trip suspected that was because she was holding a baby. Fitz jumped to his feet, just in time to have the little boy jump off the floor and hide behind the engineer’s leg, he obviously didn’t like strangers.

Fitz was the first to speak, obviously surprised at Trip’s sudden appearance, “Trip? You’re back.”

“And you’ve got a kid wrapped around your leg,” Trip replied with a straight face.

Fitz took a step forward, shielding the child even more from Trip’s view, “You’re lucky he didn’t go running to his dad, that wouldn’t have ended well.”

Trip made his way to the lounge area, raising his eyebrow at Fitz, “So they’re not yours?”

Fitz suppressed a smile, “You haven’t been gone that long, Trip. Things haven’t changed that much.”

Trip smiled, sitting on the couch, “But you and Simmons are back together, right?” He looked over at Simmons, who still comforted the baby in her arms, “I’m not seeing things. You are back together?”

Simmons shifted slightly in her seat, “We’re working on it.”

Trip smiled, “What changed? And whose kids are these?”

Both Fitz and Simmons remained silent and Trip sensed that although Fitz had said otherwise something had changed and these kids were at the heart of it.

Trip looked between the two scientists and the two children they were obviously looking after, “What’s going on? What aren’t you telling me? It’s been three years and you guys barely visit Coulson let alone together.”

Simmons looked like she might answer but froze when she heard footsteps approaching the lounge. Footsteps that Trip also heard and turned around to face.

Grant Ward stepped into the lounge, water dripping from his hair, having just gotten out of the shower, he too was frozen in place.

Trip jumped to his feet, reaching for his gun. However he stopped when the child who had been hiding behind Fitz’s leg ran and wrapped himself around Ward’s. Trip was also surprised that Ward wasn’t running, he just stood there watching Trip, waiting to see what he did next. Trip did a double take and realised something, the child looked like Ward, the child was Ward’s.

However Trip was saved from acting when the elevator door opened and Coulson stepped out, the specialist’s blood ran cold when the Director of SHIELD was followed out of the elevator by a ghost, by Skye.

The hacker froze when she stepped off the elevator, she looked Trip over, “Well, this is awkward.”

Trip looked around at the team that was now gathered in Coulson’s lounge room, “Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on.”

Skye smiled, “Well, I’m alive.”

“I can see that,” Trip snapped, he spun to face Ward, pointing a finger at the man, “What I want to know is what the hell he is doing here?”

“He’s my husband,” Skye snapped right back.

Trip was confused, he sighed, “Okay, can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?”

Simmons was actually the next one to speak, she stood up and passed the baby she had been holding to Skye, the turned back to Trip, “Ward got Skye out the base three years ago. They ran away together, got married, and had two kids. Although Andy there,” She gestured to the boy hiding behind Ward, “Is the baby Skye was pregnant with when she ran. They also have Avery,” Simmons gestured to the baby she had just handed to Skye, “But people are after Skye so they back but SHIELD is compromised so no one actually know they’re here.”

Trip flopped down on the couch again, “Okay,” He sighed, “Someone better start talking.”

Ward finally spoke, “It’s a long story.”

Trip glared at Ward, “Start at the beginning.”


	25. Family

Ward stepped off the elevator and was immediately met by a mess of black hair attaching itself to his leg. A lifetime ago the specialist would have panicked at the close human contact, now he just dropped his bag to the floor and scooped the three year old up into his arms.

Andy wrapped his arms around his father’s neck and buried his head in his father’s shoulder, “You came back.”

“Always,” Ward assured. Leaving his bag abandoned on the floor, Ward carried his son into the lounge, and he smiled, “I take it that you missed me?”

Andy wrapped his arms tighter around his father’s neck and just nodded into Ward’s shoulder.

Ward turned around when he heard laughter coming from behind him. His smile widened as Skye approached, Avery in her arms, “What? At least someone is happy to see me.”

Skye took a step closer and grinned, she planted a kiss on her husband’s cheek before whispering in his ear, “When we’re alone I’ll how you just how much I’ve missed you.”

Ward took a step back before either of them got any ideas about starting early, he grinned like a teenager, “I’ll hold you to that.”

Skye smiled playfully, “You better.”

Ward suppressed his grin as he untangled Andy from his neck, “Daddy needs to breathe, kiddo.”

Andy eventually unwrapped himself and allowed Ward to place him back on the floor. He smiled up at his father, “Do you want to see what I did?”

Ward knelt on the floor, “What did you do?”

Andy grinned, one that look so much like Ward’s, “I draw a picture for mommy but you can have it.”

Ward laughed, “If it’s for mommy maybe she should have it.”

“Mommy gets lots of pictures,” Andy mumbled, “You need one.”

Ward smiled, “Maybe mommy and I can share?”

Andy nodded, “It’s in my room.”

“Do you want to go and get it?” Ward asked, standing up.

Andy shook his head, “Come with me.” It wasn’t a question, it was a demand. Andy really was Skye’s son.

Ward smiled, “Go on, I’ll be there in a minute. Mommy and I need to talk.”

Andy looked annoyed but nodded and ran off to his own small room.

Skye smiled at her husband, “He missed you.” She stepped forward and let Ward take Avery from her arms, “We all did.”

Ward smiled at his wife, then down at his daughter, “I missed you all too.”

“How was your first assignment?” Skye asked carefully, no doubt wondering if she was stepping on thin ice.

“Different,” Ward admitted, “It’s strange not having to worry about how SHIELD’s orders will effect…” He paused before continuing carefully, “Other orders I might get.”

“How was May?” Skye asked, ignoring her husband’s reference to his past employment.

“Indifferent,” Ward shrugged, shifting Avery in his arms, “But I can deal with her.”

“Don’t push her,” Skye smiled, “I like having you around after all.”

Ward just nodded, “What about you? How was your first week working for Stark?”

Skye groaned, “Don’t ask?”

Ward smiled, “That bad, huh?”

Skye exhaled loudly, “I’m thankful that I work here and not at the actual Stark Industries,” She shook her head, “I’ve met Tony Stark three time now and each time I’ve wanted to strangle him. I’m glad he just sends me jobs and doesn’t actually come down here.”

“And here I thought you two would get along so well,” Ward laughed.

Skye shook her head, “We’re too similar to actually get along.”

“Both smart mouths and technical genius?” Ward smiled.

Skye hit her husband on the shoulder, carefully avoiding her daughter, “I am not a smart mouth.” The hacker smiled, “I’m quick witted.”

“That you are,” Ward replied.

Skye carefully to Avery back from Ward and nodded towards the bed rooms, “Go on he’s waiting for you.” As her husband walked away she called after him, “But later you’re all mine.”

* * *

Ward collapsed on the bed next to his wife, trying to catch his breath.

Skye laughed next to him, “Apparently you missed me a lot.”

“You have no idea,” Ward breathed as he rolled over to face Skye, “Do you think we woke Coulson?”

Skye laughed, “I don’t care about Coulson, it’s the kids I’m worried about.”

Ward groaned and buried his head in the pillow, “Do you think it’s too soon to scar either of them for life?”

“Avery’s too young,” Skye smiled, “But I think it’s already too late for Andy, he was in the house when we made Avery after all.”

Ward just groaned again, burying his head deeper into the pillow.

Skye laughed and Ward suddenly rolled over on top of her, capturing her lips with his. They were already naked and Ward wanted to start the night’s activities a new.

Ward pulled back and groaned when Avery’s cries echoed down the hall and through the baby monitor.

Skye sat up, pushing her husband off her, she smiled as she got out of bed and pulled her husband’s shirt on, “Looks like round two’s going to have to wait.”

“Hurry back,” Ward smiled. He watched Skye walk out of the room and grinned as he collapsed back in the bed.

It was good to be home.

It was good to have a home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for following and reviewing  
> As always I do not own Agents of SHIELD


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